Bitten
by Shelbylou
Summary: The ability to listen is a learned skill and all it takes is one moment of ignorance to cause serious damage to someone close. The question is…Can that damage be repaired? - Episode tag: Royals and Loyals. Co-authored with Smartkid37
1. Chapter 1

**Bitten by Shelbylou and Smartkid37**

Episode tag – Royals and Loyals

_Summary – The ability to listen is a learned skill and all it takes is one moment of ignorance to cause __serious __damage to someone close. The question is…Can that damage be repaired?_

Tim sat at his desk typing up his report. It had been a long week but the case had turned out to be more interesting than he ever imagined. CIA, MI6 and the red tape from dealing with the British Royal Navy had left them all feeling slightly shell shocked. He leaned back and scratched at his hand again, frowning when he pulled back his sleeve and saw that the small insect bite on the juncture of his hand and wrist seemed redder and more inflamed than usual. It was typical, the offender must have found the only unprotected patch of skin and dug right in because the gloves and his jacket protected the rest of the area.

The itch from one bite kick started another and he reached down and scratched at the side of his leg where another bite resided. Between the two of them, they were driving him up the wall with the itchy soreness was there.

"Flea's, Probie?" Tony asked from his desk. "I can suggest someone to fumiga….OW!"

Ziva's grin as she swatted the back of Tony's head was priceless and Tim couldn't help but laugh as she once again, blew on her hand. Ziva had been filing away her report in the cabinets between the boys' desk and had been worried about the fact that Tim had been scratching at a bite that should have gone down already.

"You don't get to do that." Tony fumed. "Got it? You. Don't. Get. To. Do. Th…..OW! Damn it!"

"No, but I do, DiNozzo." Gibbs smirked from the other side of Tony's desk. "Your report finished?"

"Nearly."

"Then you better get back to it." Gibbs glanced across to Tim and noticed the way he was scrutinizing his arm. He walked over and grabbed it to look at the bite. "Go see, Ducky, Tim."

"Um..It's fine, Boss. I've taken something for it already."

"No up for debate. Go on." Gibbs walked back to his desk and sat back and watched until Tim had disappeared into the elevator. He glanced down at his desk and saw two reports sitting there, one from Ziva and one from Tim. "Ziva, pack up and go home." Gibbs ordered.

"Boss? Come on, I can do this in the morning." Tony argued as Ziva switched off her computer and picked up her coat and bag.

"You'll do it tonight, DiNozzo. McGee and Ziva got theirs to me already. No reason why yours shouldn't be here as well."

"Come o…." Tony was cut off by the glare that Gibbs sent his way and started to type furiously on his keyboard.

"Good night, Tony. Oh.." Ziva bent down close so she could whisper to him. "Stay away from my desk."

Tony growled as Ziva left and turned back to his report wondering how he could find out what had happened between Ziva and her South Beach interest.

"Don't even think it!"

"I wasn't thinking anything, Boss."

"Report. One hour!" Gibbs turned back to his own machine missing the look that Tony threw his way. "Watch it, DiNozzo."

"Well, Timothy. It looks like you've been scratching at these for a wee while." Ducky said as he inspected the bite on Tim's leg. He had already seen the one on his hand and had ordered Tim to roll up the leg of his pants once the young man started scratching again. "You know you really shouldn't scratch because it will only prolong your discomfort. I take it you cleaned the bites?"

"Yeah. I washed them with mild soap and water before patting them dry." Tim shrugged. "That's what my Mom used to do when we were kids."

"Quite right. Now, I understand that you have quite sensitive skin, so I suggest mixing a paste of Bicarbonate of soda and water. Apply it to the bites and when it dries, it stops them from itching so much. Failing that, Calamine lotion will work just as well."

Tim nodded and hopped down off the table. "Thanks, Ducky."

"You're welcome. I take it you have taken anti-histamines as well, my Boy."

"Yeah, I've been taking Benadryl but it doesn't seem to be working." Tim smiled ruefully at Ducky. "Guess I'm not that lucky, huh?"

"No, it would seem not. Come and see me again tomorrow and I'll see about finding you something stronger than Benadryl."

"Thanks. I better get back upstairs before Gibbs hunts me down."

"Go on. I shall see you tomorrow."

Tim made his way up to the Squad room to grab his gear. There was no reason for Gibbs to keep him and he hoped and prayed that Gibbs wouldn't keep them any longer because exhaustion was starting to take its toll. As he waited for the elevator, he was hit by the memory of the body in the mosquito infested, stagnant water.

_"Fish him out." _Tim remembered the request and felt the nausea rise at the thought of the scummy water. It was disgusting and the thought of having to go in sickened him at the time.

_"Um, Boss. This really is a hazmat situation. You know, they did red-tag this hot tub for mosquito larva. I think we really should call..."_

_"_Yeah, that would have been the correct procedure, but his words had fallen on deaf ears. He shouldn't have listened and insisted on calling someone out, oh yeah, that was the very thing that he should have done instead of listening to his Boss. The bites reminded him of their presence once again and he fought the urge to scratch. He leaned against the wall next to the elevator waiting for it to come with own suggestion of the hazmat team, running through his mind whilst wondering why it was always him that ended up with something that would irritate his skin.

_"Get in the hot tub, Tim." _

Wow, hadn't that been the kicker. The real cut down that he hadn't been expecting; well, okay, he had been expecting it because since when did Gibbs listen? But, he'd followed his orders, put on the boots that had been handed to him and stepped into the putrid water. It had been hard to ignore the fact that the water came over the top of the boots and rendered them useless as the water seeped into the bottom of his trousers and filled the only protection he had. _'What a good little lemming I am'_ he thought as the elevator doors opened and he stepped in.

What he hadn't told Ducky, was the fact that the water had irritated the skin on his legs and the rash had only just faded thanks to the cream and bath oil that his doctor had prescribed. Now he'd been let with two god-awful bites that were relentless in their attacks. If he were to be honest with himself, the bite on his leg hadn't itched until now, but given the fact that the rash was irritating as hell, it wasn't a big surprise. It was only now, that the itching had localized itself and revealed another little bite. Mind you, he had felt them both at the time and slapped at the stinging he felt, but not before the bugs had their fill.

The doors opened to the squad room and he padded out feeling more and more tired with every step.

"McGoo, you okay?" Tony. asked as Tim plodded past him. "You look like you could sleep for a week."

"Yeah, just tired. Boss, you need anything else?" Tim waited for Gibbs to finish scrutinizing him and saw the slight nod.

"No, go on. Get some rest."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow." He switched off and reached down to grab his bag but a wave of dizziness over took him.

"Tim?" Gibbs had seen the slight waver and was looking at Tim with worry in his eyes.

"I'm good. Just more tired than I realized, I guess." With that, he walked over to the elevator without another word feeling more lethargic than he had in a while. _Damn, it's been a long week._

* * *

Is Tim hiding something?

Is there more to this that meets the eye?

Will the team realize what's wrong with their team mate?

Hmm, interesting. Hold on to your hats, because this ride's only just beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

Tim had pretty much gone straight to bed when he'd gotten home, only stopping to greet Jethro and put some food and fresh water down for him. He had never felt so grateful for the dog walker because Cindy had been by earlier to take care of Jethro's need to go out, leaving him with one less thing to worry about. That done, he shuffled to the bedroom and barely managed to take off his suit before collapsing with exhaustion wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. He was feeling unbearably hot, though the chills that ran through him made him wonder whether he was coming down with a cold but before he could dwell on it anymore, a cold, wet nose nuzzled his hand. He opened his eyes to see Jethro sitting at the side of the bed, nudging the hand that hung over.

"Hey, Boy. You wanna come up?" Tim shuffled over to make room and patted the space to the side of him. Jethro wasted no time at all and jumped up before finding a comfortable spot and laying down. "I really shouldn't let you do that. You know that, Right?

All he got for his gently chastisement was puppydog eyes leaving him with no choice but to stroke the silky fur on his beloved dog's head as he drifted off into a fevered sleep.

Tim was roused by his cell phone ringing incessantly on his nightstand; the shrill ringing punching its' way through the thick sludge that seemed to have leeched into his brain. He reached over unconsciously and tried to grasp the phone but it was just out of reach and he barely caught it with his fingertips, pushing it off the nightstand. With a heavy sigh, he rolled over, opened his eyes and reached down to retrieve it. Once his eyes cleared, he glanced at the display and grimaced when it told him he had three missed calls, three voice mail messages and two texts. Tim rolled onto his back and squinted as he tried to make sense of the text messages.

_PROBIE! WHERE R U?_

That one was from Tony and judging by the capitalization and the short, succinct message there was clearly something wrong. He closed it and moved to the next one.

_McGee. Please give phone me when you pick this up. Is everything alright?_

And that one was from Ziva. He frowned at the last question asking if everything was alright and decided to pick up his voice mails.

"_Probie, where the hell are you? Call me!"_ Tony's voice was sharp and he grimaced when he heard the distinct sound of a phone slamming down. He pushed the button to listen to the next message.

"_McGee, there better be a damn good reason you're not at work! Call me ASAP!" _Crap! The boss was beyond pissed though he couldn't understand why. He punched the button again and sat bolt upright in bed as the message filtered through his though processes.

"_MCGEE! IF YOU DON'T CALL ME IN THE NEXT TEN MINUTES THEN I'M GONNA COME DOWN THERE! THERE BETTER BE A DAMN GOOD REASON FOR YOU NOT SHOWIN' UP TODAY!" _

He was late? No, he couldn't be. A glance at his alarm clock told him that it was 0940 and he was over two and a half hours late for work. Factor in the fact that Tim was usually in way before 0700 and he could understand why they were worried. He jumped out bed and felt the nausea roll in his stomach. Once he'd willed it down to a manageable level, he hit the speed dial for Gibbs' phone and waited for his Boss to answer.

"_GIBBS!" _The barked tone made him wince and he completely understood why the Boss was angry, he just didn't know how he was going to get out of this. Deciding that honest was going to be the best policy, he started to explain.

"Um, Boss. It's McGee, I'm really sorry but I overslept this morning. I'll be in as…."

"You overslept?" Gibbs answered incredulously. "Damn it, McGee. You have half hour to get your ass in here! You're damn lucky we haven't been called out on a case!"

Tim threw the phone down as it disconnected knowing that he'd just been hung up on. It was a crappy way to start the day and if truth be told, he wasn't feeling great either. Deciding that he must have been coming down with a cold, he moved to the bathroom and hastily prepared for the day ahead.

Tim walked into the squad room a half hour later on the dot and the fact that he was late was doing nothing to improve his mood, let alone his headache. As he moved to his desk, he felt three pairs of eyes glaring at him but chose to ignore them.

"Good night last night, Probie?" Tony questioned snidely when he walked past.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked from his desk but didn't take his eyes off Tim.

"On it, Boss."

"McGee, everything alright?" the boss asked unexpectedly.

"I'm good, Boss. Just overslept." It was a mistake and he knew it when Gibbs stood up suddenly and marched over to his desk before leaning down close to Tim.

"Slept late?" Gibbs growled. "Don't let it happen again and if you EVER break rule 3 again, I'll have your hide."

"Um..Oh, er…yes, Boss." Tim stammered out and fired up his computer. "Sorry, it won't happen again."

**Thwack**

"Argh…Thanks, Boss."

"Sign of weakness. Don't be late again!" Gibbs went back to his desk and settled down to work. Tim rubbed at his eyes with the hope of easing his headache but it didn't work and the fact of the matter was, the headslap hadn't helped at all either.

As the morning wore on, Tim found himself feeling more and more sick. The nausea was back full force and the fact that Tony wasn't letting up on the relentless, mind-numbing movie references was starting to grate on his last nerve. It wasn't helped by the fact that his arm and his leg itched un-mercifully.

"You have never seen James Bond? Come on Ziva, everyone's seen James Bond." Tony's voice filtered though again and he sighed at the argument that had been going on for 5 minutes.

"I assure you, Tony. I have not and have no interest in watching them either." Ziva's clipped reply told Tim that she was as tired of his baiting as well. "Why do you not just..how do you say? Let it go, Yes?"

"Let it go? No way. You have to watch the greats. The best without a doubt was Sean Connery…" Tony dipped into his best impression of the actor. "And you know, there's a marathon on this weekend."

"Tony, for Christ sake, she doesn't want to watch the damn film!" Tim snapped. "Let it go already!"

"Gee, Probie. Bitter much?" Tony snorted as the memory of the conversation he'd had with Jimmy at the hot tub crime scene filtered back through. Another 'I Love Lucy' quote shot through his head and he turned to face Tim. "Gee, did you hear that, honey? It's going to be called "Bitter Grapes." I wonder what part they want me for."

"I don't know, DiNozzo. Village idiot?" Tim shot back with enough malice that it had Gibbs looking up with a frown.

"Hah! Don't you just hate it when you get your buttons pushed? You see, Probie. I have a plan…."

"I'm still recovering from your last plan!" Tim shot back knowing that throwing back another quote from the show that Tony seemed hell bent on torturing him with, would de-rail him.

"Huh? Did you just? You did, you just quoted something from I Lo….."

"DiNozzo! I want that report on my desk in 1 HOUR!" Gibbs shouted across to him.

"1 hour?" Tony was looking at Gibbs with a horrified look on his face. All he got in return was one of the famous glares. "1 hour, Boss."

Tim got back to the searches that he was doing and got lost in his own memories of that day.

"_Ah.. Archimedes' Theory, boss._ _My foot mass is going to displace enough liquid to breach over the top of the boots." _Tim remembered saying after putting his foot in and watching the water rise dangerously close to the top of the boots. The last thing he had wanted was for mosquito Larva infested water soaking his legs…Not that it did much good. The damn rash he got from going in saw to that!

"_It's more than a theory, it's a proven scientific fact, McGee."_ Tim scowled as Jimmy's voice rang through his mind. All he could think of at the time was _yeah, that's helpful!_ Now that the obvious was once again joining every other memory of that day in his mind, he found himself feeling a little resentful towards his friend. He remembered throwing Jimmy a look of disgust before glancing back at Gibbs in the hope that the Boss would actually listen for once. No such luck, all he got was…..

"_Swim, Tim."_

Two little words, that's all they were, but the flat tone in which they were delivered left no doubt in Tim's mind that Gibbs had clearly dismissed how he was feeling on the matter. Then…Oh this had been the real kicker….Tony and Jimmy had the gall to start with a friendly conversation about an I Love Lucy episode…._I LOVE LUCY! _With a shake of his head, Tim started to wonder why the hell he bothered. Deep down he knew why, NCIS was his home from home. Just sometimes he felt that a little respect wouldn't go amiss.

What the hell? Why was he thinking like this? And what the hell had sparked it off? Oh yeah, bitter grapes. Tony had said at the time that by him stepping into a hot tub of water reminded him of '_Grape squishing' _episode. Oh hadn't he just loved being compared to a woman dressed like a gypsy jumping into a vat of grapes, especially when it was a little bit more dangerous than that. In all honesty, if the whole incident hadn't caused him so much discomfort over the past week, then it really wouldn't have bothered him at all. It was the sore, itchy rash and the two bites that left him feeling resentful of the whole situation, a bit like he had with the poison ivy incident.

Tim felt the bile rise in his throat and sat up straight in his chair to try and push it away. After a couple of minutes, he went back to his computer and started researching the financials that they needed for the case. He was soon lost in what he was doing but was startled when Gibbs desk phone rang loudly.

"Yeah, Gibbs…Now?...On my way." Gibbs stood up and stormed towards the stairs that would take him to the director's office.

"Huh. Boss has been summoned." Tony comments absentmindedly.

"It does look that way." Ziva agreed and glanced over at Tim. She frowned and cocked her head slightly at the sight of him holding his head in one hand and his stomach in the other. "McGee, are you alright?"

Tim dropped his hand and nodded once. It was a bold faced lie and he knew it because between the headache, the nausea and the tiredness, he really did feel crappy. "M'fine, Ziva. Just tired."

"You do not look well. Maybe you should go and see Ducky." Ziva suggested gently.

"Yeah, McGoo. You're not lookin' so hot."

"I'm fine. Really guys, I'm good."

"you know, you look as good as…"

"Tony! Drop it!" Tim warned, ignoring the spiking pain in his head.

"Drop what? I'm just saying. Jeez, you're cranky this morning."

"Tony! Leave it! Seriously."

"Well I would, McGee but I don't know what I'm leaving, do I? No how about you be a good little Probelicious and tell Uncle Tony what is going on?" Tony stood up and moved to the side of Tim's desk with a smirk. He was completely unprepared for the reaction he got and stepped back when Tim stood up and squared up to him.

"You know what, DiNozzo? I've had enough of your crap. Every day! Every damn day I come to work and you've got something snide to say. It's been the same all week! Enough's enough. If you really must know, I think I'm catching a cold. My head hurts and these damn bites from that hot tub I was told to swim in on Monday are driving me up the wal…"

Tim stopped mid flow and swayed slightly as the nausea roiled in his stomach. He grit his teeth and shoved Tony out of the way so that he could make his way to the men's room.

"What the?...Probie!" Tony shouted after Tim as he ran off. Tim stopped in his tracks briefly enough to look over his shoulder. He swallowed hard against whatever was trying break free and shouted over his shoulder.

"You got away with it one too many times, DiNozzo." That was it, in the time that it took to stop and say his piece, he stomach rebelled once again and it was all he could do to stop it.

"Come on, Man. I'm sorry, alright. It was just a joke." Tony watched him go and swept his hand through his hair before looking at Ziva. "What?"

"Was that really necessary, Tony?" Ziva asked with a glare that could rival Gibbs'.

"What? It was just a joke." Tony shrugged and moved back to his desk and sat down unaware of the figure standing in the shadows at the bottom of the stairs watching the whole debacle.

Gibbs walked out of the Director's office and started to make his way down the stairs. When he reached the bottom and rounded the corner at the edge of Tony's desk, he saw Tim squaring up to Tony and yelling.

"_You know what, DiNozzo? I've had enough of your crap. Every day! Every damn day __I__ come to work and you've got something snide__to say. __It's been the same all week!__ Enough's enough. If you really must know, I think I'm catching a cold. My head hurts and these damn bites from that hot tub __I was told to swim in on Monday__ are driving me up the wal…" _

"_What the?...Probie!" _Gibbs shook his head and narrowed his eyes at what was happening. Trust DiNozzo to stick his foot in it.

"_You got away with it one too many times, DiNozzo."_ Got away with what? Was something going on that Gibbs didn't know about? If there was, he was damn sure that he was gonna find out.

Gibbs stood there listening to the rest of the exchange and cringed when Tim fought against something before moving again. As he watched, his gut clenched uncomfortably leaving him with an uneasy feeling. It wasn't the fact that Tim was finally standing up for himself that caused it; no, it was the fact that Tim was looking pale and swayed slightly where he stood. Gibbs moved forward to diffuse the situation before his boys came to blows, but before he reached them, Tim pushed Tony out of his way and ran shakily towards the bathroom.

"DiNozzo! What the hell just happened?" Gibbs barked, startling his agent. He silently loved the fact that he had the power to startle them and knew that no matter what, he could still sneak up on his unsuspecting team.

"Boss?" Tony asked as Gibbs walked straight past them and followed Tim. "I don't know, we were….."

"I don't wanna hear it! Get back to work." Gibbs shouted over his shoulder and carried on after Tim. He could see his Junior agent just ahead and watched as he stumbled and grabbed the wall to steady himself. The fact that Tim seemed unsteady on his feet made him move faster towards him, but before he got there to offer support, Tim had finally made it into the men's bathroom on his own steam. It wasn't long before he followed Tim in and was met by the harsh sound of retching coming from the stall at the end. Gibbs moved towards it and found the door open where Tim's tenuous hold had burst through.

"Crap! Tim!" he knelt down and grabbed onto Tim's shoulders to support him as he continued to empty the contents of his stomach. "Easy, now."

"B..Boss?" Tim managed to stammer out as his stomach stopped rebelling against him and leaned forward to flush the toilet.

"Yeah, Tim. I'm here. You ready to get up?" Tim nodded once and felt Gibbs arms slip under his armpits so that he could lift him up. Once up, dizziness hit Tim full force causing him to sway dangerously and Gibbs wrapped his arms around his agents chest to stop him from falling.

"I'm taking you to Ducky." Gibbs was worried. There was no doubt about that; first the kid had been late – something that never happened – and then he'd been hanging on by a thread all day. Now this? Damn, he should have seen it earlier and demanded that Tim go down to get checked out.

"No. I'm alright, Boss, it's just a bug." Tim shrugged off Gibbs' support and staggered out of the cubicle but before he could make it to the sink he was hit by a wave of dizziness that made him feel as though he was on board a ship in the middle of a storm. "I don't need to see Ducky."

"The hell, you don't!" Gibbs watched as Tim swayed and clutched at his head. "You can barely stand up!"

"Boss…" The bathroom lilted and swirled leaving him feeling disorientated. He didn't want to seem so weak in front of Gibbs, but his body had finally given up and the last thing he felt was his knees buckling and Gibbs grabbing him before he hit the floor. His last fleeting thought was '_thank God for small mercies'_ before darkness encroached and he knew no more.


	3. Chapter 3

"TIM!" Gibbs lurched forward and caught Tim as his knees buckled. Thankfully, Gibbs' lighting quick reflexes saved the kids head from hitting the cold, hard Tile of the floor. "McGee! Can you hear me?"

"Boss?..." Tim opened his eyes and cringed when the room swam dangerously around him. He was struggling to focus and was so disorientated that Gibbs seemed to be fazing in and out before him. "Where m'I?"

"The head. Take it easy." Gibbs placed his hand on Tim's forehead and held it there in hope that it would steady the unfocused, glazed eyes so that his Agent would focus on him. Tim slowly moved his head to the side and closed his eyes making Gibbs curse. What scared him the most, was the fact that Tim was so pale and the heat rolling of his body seemed to permeate through Gibbs as if he was sitting next to a radiator. "Hey! Stay with me, Tim."

Tim opened his eyes but was assaulted with a serious wave of dizziness that left him feeling nauseas so he swallowed hard, closed his eyes against his rolling stomach, and sighed slightly before realizing that his head was pillowed against something firm, but soft. As he opened his eyes, he found himself looking up at Gibbs once again, happy that the man was more solid. "Don't feel so good."

"I know, Tim. I'm gonna get Ducky up here to take a look at ya." The team leader reached for his phone and sighed heavily with frustration when he remembered that he'd left it on his desk. Just as he was about to tell Tim to hang tight while he got it, Tony walked into the bathroom and took in the scene before him.

"Boss, what's going on?" He asked as he made his way over quickly and knelt down on the other side of Tim.

"Tony, you got your phone?" Gibbs asked with urgency.

"Um, sure boss. Probie you okay?"

"DiNozzo! Call Ducky, tell him Tim's collapsed and we need him down here. Once you've done that call an ambulance." He watched as Tony pulled out his phone and started making the call. He turned back to Tim and brushed the short hair back from his hot, sweaty forehead. "Alright, Tim. Help's on the wa…..Crap! Dinozzo! Grab his legs."

Tony turned and felt his eyes widen with horror at the sight of Tim as he convulsed before him. "Ducky, he's having a seizure…"

"_Anthony, hang up! I'll be there in a moment and will get Mr. Palmer to call an ambulance. Make sure his head is supported and hold him down gently so that he doesn't hurt himself further."_

Tony snapped his phone shut and sank down on the hard floor, ignoring the jolt of pain that shot up his leg as his knee connected. He blanketed Tim's lower body with his own and watched Gibbs expertly support his Probie's head to stop it from banging against the floor.

"Shouldn't we hold his tongue, Boss?" Tony asked as the vague memory from a film shot through his mind. "I mean, won't he choke?"

"No. don't do that now." Gibbs said snippily "where's Ducky?"

"On his way." Tony pulled back slightly when he felt Tim's muscles go slack and shook his head. "Boss….."

"It's over, DiNozzo. You did good." Tony nodded but the praise was hollow in comparison to how sick his Probie truly was. He watched as his boss supported Tim's head and rubbed circles in his sweaty temples with his thumb.

"What?...I mean, I don't get it, Boss. How'd he get so sick?"

"Let's find out, shall we Anthony. Please, stand aside and let an old man in." Ducky had slipped into the men's room and knelt down beside Tim. "Oh, Timothy. You really are a poorly boy, aren't you?"

"Duck, he's like a damn furness. You call an Ambulance?"

"Mr. Palmer was calling as I left, Jethro. Now, let us see what we have, shall we?" Ducky pulled open his bag and pulled out a digital thermometer. With a practiced efficiency, he soon had it resting in Tim's ear waiting for it to beep. The silence that washed over him was suffocating and he could almost feel Tony and Gibbs holding their breaths, waiting for the beep. After a minute, the thermometer beeped and Gibbs frowned at Ducky's sharp intake of breath when he read the results.

"DUCK!"

"Jethro, he needs to be in the hospital under cooling blankets. His fever is dangerously high." Ducky put the thermometer down and reached in to get his stethoscope and blood pressure monitor.

"How high?" Tony whispered. "Ducky, he's so damn hot."

"40, my dear boy. His temperature is 40." Ducky said quietly as he attached the cuff to Tim's arm.

"In American, Duck!" Gibbs barked with frustration. Hell of a time for the Doc to revert back to his UK measurements.

"Sorry?...Oh, yes, well, um….104, Jethro. Any higher and his body won't be able to handle it. Anthony, go to the vending machines and buy as many bottles of cold water as you can. We need to do something until the medics arrive. The machine tends to keep them cold and we can use them to bring down his temperature." Ducky watched as Tony jumped up and ran out of the bathroom to do what he could to help. "Jethro, help me get him stripped down to his boxer shorts."

"He won't like that, Duck."

"Yes, well. If it's a choice between his body trying to broil him from the inside out or living to see another day, then I'd take embarrassment any day. Please, Jethro. Anthony can guard the door and we will be the only people to see." Ducky bit out harshly knowing it was the only way that his friend was going to understand. "It's the best that I can do without having the facility to put him in a cool bath."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at the M.E. before turning to Tim and manhandling him out of his clothing. It didn't take them long to get him stripped down and as the last sock came off, Tony walked in carrying all the water bottles that he could carry.

"Woah! What the hell?"

"This is not fodder for you to use against him, DiNozzo."

"Yes, Boss. Ducky Here's the water bottles." Ducky watched as Tony dropped back down to the floor and handed one to the M.E. "What do we do?"

"Anthony, I need you to go and watch out for the paramedics, please. DO NOT let anyone in because Timothy won't want anyone to see him like this. When the medics arrive, show them in immediately."

"You got it." Ducky felt Tony rise and strategically placed the water bottle under Tim's armpit before reaching out for another one and placing it under the other. Gibbs watched as his old friend worked at putting the makeshift cold packs in strategically placed points around Tim's body, but tore himself away when he felt Tim move.

"St…No….Col…" Tim shivered at the icy invaders on his body. "Please….."

"Shh, Tim. It's alright, son. We've got ya." Gibbs soothed but frowned when Tim's eyes looked at him without really seeing.

"B…Boss. Why'm I….Wh…Clothes." Tim slurred. "S'cold."

"Timothy, we need to get your fever down. Please, bear with us until help arrives and we'll get you to Bethesda in no time."

"Hmm….No…Need….."

"To let Ducky do his job, McGee." Gibbs firmly told his agent. "He's not tracking fully, Duck."

Ducky nodded sadly. "I know. I don't know what's bought this on, but he's very sick, Jethro. I won't be happy until he's at the hospital and we can figure out what it is we are dealing with."

Right on cue, the door opened and two medics rushed in pushing a gurney and set about doing what they could to stabilize his boy for transport. It took a good twenty minutes to do that though, and Gibbs watched with a deep rooted concern as they finally lifted him up and strapped him down with a blanket covering him, so that they could take him to the hospital.

"Jethro." Ducky held out a cup of coffee for his friend and offered up a rueful smile as he took it. They had arrived at Bethesda a half hour ago with Tony, Ziva and Abby, and were currently sitting in the waiting area for new of Tim's condition.

"Thanks, Duck. Damn it! Why didn't I notice that he was sick?"

"To be fair, Boss. I thought it might just be that flu that's goin' around. Now?...Now I'm not so sure." Tony jumped in and tried to take some of Gibbs guilty burden off the man.

"That is true, Gibbs. I too saw that he was looking….what is the word? Peaky, yes?"

"Peaked, Ziva. Peaked." Tony quirked a small smile. "We're all as much to blame, Boss. We should have paid more attention."

Gibbs nodded and stood up to work the kinks out of his back. Why they had to make these chairs so damn uncomfortable, he didn't know. "I'm goin' for a walk. I've got my cell." He stalked out with his coffee and left Ducky sitting there with the rest of the team.

"They say anything yet, Ducky?" Tony asked and tightened his arms around Abby as she let out a muffled sob. "I know it hasn't been long, but do they know what's causing this?"

"I can't say, Anthony. I did however take the liberty of mentioning, Timothy's bites." Ducky replied with an edge of angry sadness.

"Why? Ducky you cannot think that he has picked up some disease from the mosquito's." Ziva chimed in firmly. "He has not been abroad and I do not think Malaria is going…"

"Ahh, well. Malaria is the most common disease affiliated with mosquito bites. It is fairly rare here in the United States though. I have my theories as do the good Doctors here, but I am going to hold out for the results first because I don't want to worry anyone."

The room fell silent once again as they all sat there worrying about Tim and sipping at their hot drinks. After another half hour had passed, they were all so lost in their troubled thoughts that they hadn't seen the doctor standing at the door. "Timothy McGee's family, please."

"Doctor. I met you when we bought Timothy in. These are his dear friends and colleagues and anything that you have to say can be said in front of them." Ducky stood up and made his way to the door.

"Sorry, Dr. Mallard. But I can't discuss this with anyone but his next of kin. Tim has a few people listed….His parents, Yourself and…." The doctor flipped the page to the next and read the last name on the list. "Special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"I'm Gibbs." A gruff voice trilled behind him. "Anything you have to say, you can say to everyone."

"I'm sorry bu…"

"Look! We're all his family. His parent's are out of town right now and I'll be able to update them better once I know what's going on, so how about you just spit it out!" Gibbs had pretty much come to the end of his patience and couldn't help but snap at the young doctor. He watched as the E.R. resident deflated slightly and nodded.

"Okay. We've taken some bloods but we won't get the results back until later. He had another seizure about ten minutes ago but that's under control, though he did wake up confused and unaware of where he was. I'm worried about some kind of neurological trauma that is being caused by this illness, but we won't know more until we can run some more tests. Right now, we're treating the symptoms with cooling blankets, broad spectrum antibiotics and medications to bring his fever down."

Ducky sighed heavily and shook his head. "What is his temperature now?"

"102.5. It's dropping slowly, but it's going in the right direction. Until we know what it is we are dealing with, all we can do is our level best to keep him stable." The doctor was interrupted by his pager beeping. "Excuse me. I have to get this."

As he left, Gibbs turned to Ducky and glared at him. "You know what's goin' on Duck?"

"As I said, I have an idea." Ducky said with a nod.

"Care to fill me in?"

"Jethro, I believe Timothy may be suffering from some kind of mosquito transmitted disease from your careless disregard when sending him into that hot tub…"

"Cut the crap, Duck! You didn't object either." Gibbs growled at his friend as his hackles rose.

"No. I quite agree, I didn't. I am a stupid old fool, that should have listened when Timothy requested that we wait for HAZMAT and am regretting that we didn't dearly now."

"Damn it! Tony jumped up making Abby whimper and rounded on the two men. "We're all to blame! Right now, this isn't gonna help Probie, so how about you back off, Boss and let Ducky fill us in on what he thinks it is." Ziva's eyebrows shot up into her hairline at Tony's off hand remarks to the two men standing in front of him. Whilst she agreed wholeheartedly with what he was saying, she couldn't quite believe that it had been Tony who had stood up to them.

"Quite. I apologize Anthony. Now, you ask what I believe to be wrong with your man, Jethro."

"Yeah."

"I believe that he is suffering from some kind of arbovirus which has been transmitted by the two bites that he suffered that day. He wouldn't know about it at the time and probably shrugged it off as coming down with the flu." Ducky explained.

"Ducky, what is an Arbovirus?" Ziva and Abby approached the group arm in arm and Gibbs saw nothing but sheer concern dripping off of both women.

"It is a term used to describe a group of viruses that are transmitted by anthropod vectors….basically by insect bites. Vectors are the vehicles by which the diseases are transmitted; in this case, mosquito's. I could be very wrong, Ziva, but right now, that is what they are testing for."

"Malaria?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"I don't think it's Malaria, Jethro. The symptoms are not a-typical for that disease."

"Then what? Damn it, Duck! Just spit it out!"

Ducky sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair with a silent frustration that was rare in the M.E.

"Alright. I believe, Timothy is suffering from some kind of encephalitis. We are not sure which one yet, but I'm theorizing that it's likely to be of the La Crosse strain. I could be wrong though, so please don't take what I say as a diagnosis."

"Ducky?" Abby finally piped up from where she was clinging to Ziva's arm. "He was seizing. With LACV, that's not a good sign."

"No, Abigail. I am afraid it's not, my dear."


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs sat next to Tim's bed watching as the youngest member of his team battled against the disease that had been caused by the mosquito bites; bites caused by his own stubborn foolishness and ignorance to what his brilliant agent had respectfully reminded him. Right now, Tim lay there under cooling blankets because his fever had spiked once again. It was horrible seeing him like this. His once vibrant, clear eyes were now glassy and clouded with an illness that could have been avoided and his pale, pain pinched face was glistening with sweat.

"Jethro?" Gibbs looked up to see Ducky peering warily from the doorway. "How is he?"

"No change. He doesn't even know I'm here." The younger man admitted with the genuine emotion he only allowed out when Ducky was there to lean on.

"It's the fever. I have just been speaking to the doctor, Jethro. It is as I feared." Ducky said sadly and slipped fully into the room. He moved to Tim's head and brushed the sweaty bangs away from his forehead. "I am afraid that this seems to have hit the poor boy hard, though the infection from the bite wounds is contributing to that as well."

Gibbs' eyes shot up to Ducky with anger flashing through them. "Infection? What infection?"

"I noticed it when we stripped him down in the men's room, the wounds were red and puffy. Getting his fever down was more important at the time though. His doctor said that there is nothing they can do for the LACV but try to combat the symptoms, but the infection should be cleared up easily with the IV antibiotics."

Gibbs sat back with a dejected sigh and nodded. "Okay, so what do we expect here Duck?"

"Hmm, best or worst case?" Ducky asked and sat down in the chair at the otherside of Tim's bed. The M.E. didn't lose contact though and now had has hand resting loosely on Tim's wrist.

"Both."

Ducky sighed heavily. "Okay. Best case scenario is that Timothy will be quite poorly for a couple of weeks. He'll have headaches, nausea and vomiting, severe fatigue and will be lethargic. The fever inked to the disease should only last between 2-3 days." With shake of his head, Ducky stood up and used the basin of cool water that the nurse had left there to wipe at Tim's brow.

"Worst?"

"Jethro, the worst case scenario will mean he won't be able do his job any longer. He will have all the symptoms I mentioned before along with seizures…which are more common that you think, though these can be permanent. He may have some neurologic sequel that will come in the form of the recurrent seizures, hemi paresis…sorry, partial paralysis of one side of the body, and cognitive and neurobehavioral abnormalities." Ducky saw Gibbs pale where he sat and shook his head. "It might not come to that. Let's not think about the worst case scenario's just yet. The good news is that the fatality rate is only 1%"

With a huff, Gibbs stood up and moved to stand over Tim. "What are his chances?"

"I can't answer that my friend. I simply don't know the answer. Lets just get him over the first hurdle and worry about the rest later." Gibbs eyed Ducky wearily and nodded. Sure, the kid might have ongoing problems but no matter what,the Team Leader found himself determined to be there for him. Gibbs nodded and stormed off towards the door with a "Goin' for coffee." thrown over his shoulder. Ducky sat there wondering why Gibbs was feeling so desperately angry about it.; sensing it was something more than the obvious culprit; guilt.

"Oh,my boy, I think our fearless leader is feeling rather guilty at the moment. I will admit, I am as well. What we did…we should have listened to your warning. Instead, we harangued you into getting into that damn hot tub; or did nothing to prevent it when…" Ducky's attention was drawn to Tim's twitching arms, something that he recognized as a precursor to…"Oh no! No you don't Timothy!" he pushed the emergency call button and held Tim down as best he could as another seizure ripped through him. Alarm's started to beep furiously as Tim's heartbeat shot up and his O2 levels dropped.

"Dr. Mallard, what…." The nurse that Ducky had spent time talking too before walking into the room rushed in and helped him hold Tim down so that he wouldn't hurt himself and between the two of them they managed to see him through the worst of the seizure. The nurse stepped back and pressed the call button once again.

"The doctor was on his way. He's stabilized for now." She said kindly and went about tending to Tim.

"Thank you, my dear." Ducky acknowledged with fear knotting in his heart. This young man had been through so much with this illness already, the last thing he needed was for it to permanently affect him. "Timothy, you fight this, my boy. You fight this with everything you've got."

Gibbs walked. Where to, he didn't know, he just let his feet take him where he needed to go. Before he knew it, he was standing next to his car with his keys in his hand to unlock it. _Where was he going?...Oh yeah!_ He was struck suddenly by a gut feeling so strong, that he had no choice but to act on it and so, with coffee in hand, he got into the car and turned the engine on before pulling out and driving to where he needed to go.

The journey seemed to pass in a haze, but before he knew it, he was pulling into the very crime scene that had brought his youngest agent to this point of illness, so that he could see for himself, or at least try to rationalize their actions. There was no reason for them and the comment he made echoed loudly in his head…._Swim Tim._

"Can I help you?"

Gibbs turned and recognized the pool cleaner that had found the body. "Oh, Agent Gibbs. I thought NCIS had done with this tub. We just got the clearance to go ahead and clear it."

Gibbs nodded curtly at the statement and gazed at the rapidly emptying hot tub. "infestation still there?"

"It's worse. I told the wife that the malaria carriers are...,"

"Rare in these parts if the woods." Gibbs stated and looked towards the tub. "Member of my team's sick from it. LACV."

"Nasty but low mortality rate. They carry all kinds of nasties. Knowing that though, I'll make sure to give the a double dose...is that the kid that went in? Damn foolish if you ask me. It was red tagged because of the Mosquitos so it should have been a hazmat situation."

Gibbs watched as the exterminator went about spraying the ground where the larvae had been washed out. He felt his guilt deepen and curl in his gut making him nauseas. "Not his fault." He staunchly declared and stalked off to his car. Before he got a few steps, he turned to face the man. "You ever seen it?"

"What?"

"A case of LACV."

The guy nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, my brother got it." a look if sadness passed over his face.

Gibs frowned and cocked his head slightly. "What happened?" he asked softly and started to make his way back to the man as he waited for his answer.

"He was in that 1%"

"Ducky." Ziva called softly before laying a soft Gand on his shoulder and handing him a cup of tea. "How is he?"

"Oh, Ziva, you are a lifesaver." Ducky replied with a smile and sipped at the tea. His eyebrows rose with surprise at the taste if his favourite brew. "Perfect."

Ziva chuckled slightly "How could I forget?"

"Ah, yes. We have shared quite a few cups of tea..." Ducky trailed off and looked at TIm "His fever is up and down but the seizures are gradually panning off. He's still a poorly boy though, my dear."

"Has he woken yet?" Ziva asked softly and brushed the sweaty bangs away from Tim's forehead.

"A few times. But he's quite disorientated." The M.E. answered with a touch of worry.

"Ducky, why don't you take a break and I'll sit with him for a while." Ziva invited.

"That would be wonderful. I need to stretch these old legs. The bones arent what they used to be im afraid..." Ducky watched her sit down and stood up to go and lay a hand on hr shoulder. He felt a pang of pain at the look in her eyes, bur shook it off. "Ah yes, I'm afraid they creak now and dont like being sat for too long. I shall go and find Jethro and see how he is doing. I have my cell so please call if there are any changes."

"Of course." she replied and laid her hand over his where it rested on her shoulder. Ducky turned his hand so that he had grasped hers, and squeezed gently before making his way out. Ziva turned back to the figure in the bed and made a solemn vow. "McGee, if you don't push through this I will never forgive you."

"Pull..." A weakened, scratchy voice rang through the room and she glanced up at to see two dull, glassy green eyes looking at her.

"TIm! How are you feeling?"

TIm shook his head slightly. "Not good….water?"

With a frown, Ziva set about fetching the cup of water that sat there. She was pleased to see a straw had been placed there for ease and gently placed the end on Tim's full bottom lip. "Small sips, Tim." She advised kindly and waited until he pulled back and laid his head back on the pillow.

"Thanks." Tim frowned and looked around the room. "Why am I here?"

His question shot through her and she understood what Ducky had meant. Between the fevers and the general malaise that the illness had bought with it, Tim was pretty confused.

"Because you are sick and need help." She answered him calmly so he wouldn't get agitated.

"Mosquito bites…." He realized out loud.

"Yes, Tim. From the bites." She said guiltily and watched with a heavy heart as Tim sighed and nodded. "I am sorry, McGee."

"What for…." Tim's voice trailed off and Ziva saw his eyes drifting shut again before being forced back open. "…Didn'…didn't do anything." He looked at her with worry, obviously not wanting her to blame herself for what he was going through.

"Exactly." Ziva replied and turned away from Tim so she could walk to the window in his room and look out at the world beyond the terrible fate that was being played out in front of her. Truth be told, she had thought that it was wrong for Gibbs to order any of them into that water at the time and now she was mentally kicking herself for not stopping it.

"Zee…." She heard rustling behind her and turned to see Tim struggling against his sheets.

"Get back in that bed, McGee." She ordered softly and managed to get there in time to push him back down. The effort that it had taken him was obvious in the little beads of sweat that dotted his brow. With a tut, she used the basin and cloth that had been left to wipe his brow. "We are to blame. Some not directly, but still we did not do anything to prevent this. I am sorry…"

"Sign of we…weakness." He croaked out.

"No. It is not. Not to you." Tim turned his hand over and splayed his fingers in the hope that she would take his hand. She glanced down at it before lacing her fingers through his.

"Not anyone's fault. Just happened." Tim finally drifted off to sleep and Ziva felt his hand slacken in her own.

"Yes, Tim. It is, but we will try much harder next time. I promise you that."

Gibbs pulled up to the hospital once again and parked his car. He sat there for a couple more minutes before reaching for the keys and yanking them out of the ignition. Just as he was about to pocket them, his cell phone rang. With a frown, He pulled it out and cursed under his breath when he read the display.

"Leon."

"_You wanna tell me why one of my agent's is lying in a hospital bed right now?" _Vance demanded harshly.

"Leon, we can discuss this la…"

"_You got that right, Gibbs! I thought you were all out on a case. Miss Sciuto __was__ the one to inform me that you were__, in fact, __at the hospital…and even __**that **__was when she was on her way out to meet you there__!__"_

"Who told her?" Gibbs asked and shook his head. As much as he loved her, this afternoon had been bad enough what with sitting with Tim, but to be reamed out at…._damn; 8pm_, was just adding to how he was feeling about what he did.

"_Don't care, Gibbs. All I know is that __I'm just now finding out that __McGee's in the hospital with LACV." _

"How'd you find out?" Gibbs asked carefully.

"_How? __Ms Scuito__ tore out of here like a bat out of hell, so I did some digging. Turns out there was something missing out of those reports __on that case__, wasn't there?"_

Gibbs felt the air freeze in his lungs as he remembered signing off the reports that his team had submitted. Not one of them had added Tim's dip in the hot tub. "Missing? Wanna fill me in."

He heard Vance sigh heavily. _"__Ms Scuito __told me that __Agent __McGee was ordered to get into a hot tub infested with __Maleria carrying mosquito l__arvae…without, the correct __protective equipment__. What the hell were you thinking? It was red tagged!"_

" Well, hell, Leon. Obviously I wasn't at the time." Gibbs remarked with a touch of sarcasm mixed with the guilt that managed to escape into his tone.

"And, why wasn't it reported that the way the body was taken from the water was through the careless disregard of the health/wellbeing of one of my agents?" Vance demanded, obviously still highly ticked off .

Gibbs could feel the anger rise at the constant barrage of questions that was thrown his way. He managed to tune them out when he was hit by a random thought…_Abby_, of course. McGee usually talked to her so it stood to reason that he'd go to her if he had a problem. "Leon! I need to get back to McGee. You can take your pot shots at me when I know he's out of the woods, all right?

"_D__amn right you will, Gibbs. I'm launching an official investigation in the whole affair, so I want you, your team, Dr. Mallard, Jimmy Palmer and Miss Sciuto up in my office at 0900."_

"Leon, you can't be se…No!..Leon!...DAMN IT!" Gibbs threw his phone at his windshield and watched it smash into three pieces before falling on to the dashboard. He sat back in his chair, breathing deep breaths to help calm him down. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a knock at the window and felt the car door open. When he finally opened his eyes, it was to find a highly pissed off Abby standing there glaring at him.

"We need to talk, Gibbs…NOW!"


	5. Chapter 5

_"We need to talk, Gibbs…NOW!"_

"Abbs! What the hell?" Gibbs huffed out angrily as he tore the keys out of the ignition and stepped out to face her. "What's your damn problem?"

"My problem? My PROBLEM!" Abby's voice got louder and louder and Gibbs cringed as it reached its' crescendo and echoed through the parking lot.

"Well, yeah, Abbs. You open my car door yellin' at me and lookin' pissed. I'd say you'd better have a pretty damn serious problem to be like this! I don't expect it from you!"

Abby glared at him for a brief moment before finally spitting out what was on her mind. "My problem, Gibbs, is that I went back to work and found THIS in my emails!" She waggled a piece of paper in front of Gibbs face and waited for Gibbs to snatch it out of her hand. He held it away from him to read and huffed out a breath at what he found there.

**To: Abigail Scuito**

**From: Pamela Cook – on behalf of**** NCIS ****Director Leon Vance**

**Cc: ****Director Leon Vance**

**Bcc:**

**Subject: Official Investigation**

**Dear Miss Scuito**

**An official complaint has been raised with regards to the illness that ****NCIS MCRT Member ****Agent Timothy McGee is currently suffering from.**

**It ****has come**** to my attention that the duty of care that is required by members of this agency have been ignored and this is something that we take very seriously. Protocols are in place for a reason and it is with deep regret that these have not been adhered to.**

**With this in mind, I'm am opening an official investigation into the event's that have led up to ****Agent McGee's**** collapse and have scheduled a meeting tomorrow morning at 0900 in my office. ****Your attendance is mandatory**

**Please be fully prepared to present a deposition of facts surrounding this case and the decline of Agent McGee's health following it, such as you are aware.**

**Regards**

**Leon Vance**

**Director, ****NCIS**

Gibbs huffed out a breath and turned to Abby. "Why does he want you there? You're not part of this!"

"You tell me!" She yelled and grabbed the paper out of his hands. "It doesn't matter now anyway. I know who filed the complaint and you might want to talk to Tony because I know he answered Tim's phone and that's what led to this."

"DiNozzo did what!" Gibbs roared making Abby flinch. "Damn it! If it had been his family…."

"It _was_ Tim's family, _Gibbs!_ Angela…sorry, his Mom rang his cell and Tony answered. He didn't have any choice but to tell her what was going on. When I read this, I made my way to talk to the Director and I saw….." Abby admitted and frowned at Gibbs face as it darkened.

"Spit it out, Abby!" he growled.

"Angela McGee." She said quietly as she tried to figure out what she saw. "Vance was showing her out of his office and she was crying. That's when I turned round and came here. What's going on? What's wrong with him, Gibbs? Has he gotten worse?...Oh no! Gibbs is he….?" She paused at the look on the older man's face and her eyes widened. "Oh my God! He isn't….!"

"No change, Abbs." Gibbs said sadly and shook his head. "Damn it! Sounds like his family have filed a complaint."

"You blame them? Honestly? Come on, you all let him go in there, Gibbs! He warned you it was a red tag and you ignored him. He went out on a limb against what you asked him to do just to ask you to wait for HAZMAT. Don't you realize how important what he was asking you to do was? If he was willing to speak up against your direct order like that, Gibbs, then it was a serious problem! Why didn't you pay attention to him? Wait, what am I saying, you never pay attention to him."

Gibbs eyed her warily before slamming his car door shut. "I know, Abbs." He stalked off leaving Abby with no choice but to follow. He was damned if he was going to worry about the complaint right now; truth be told, they…okay, _he_, deserved it and after this, he was going to make damn sure to listen to his team in the future.

Ducky sat with Tim watching as he twitched and groaned. The fever had spiked once again and right now, the hospital staff was trying to bring it down with the use of cooling blankets.

"Timothy, I don't know what to say my boy. I'm truly very sorry. Had I known…what am I saying. I am but a foolish old man who should have listened. I did know the risks and yet didn't listen or speak up. I just stood by as Jethro told you to get in that blasted hot tub. I just presumed that you would be okay. Oh my boy, Look at you now…" He stood up and moved to the bowl of cold water that had been set there by the nurses. With a sigh, he wrung out the cloth and wiped away the fevered sweat that coated Tim's skin. "What have we done, Timothy?"

"It's what we didn't do that's the problem." Ducky glanced up at the Team Leader's words, to see Gibbs hovering in the doorway.

"Yes, well I can't disagree with you there, Jethro. We are certainly at fault and if the poor boy is left with permanent disabilities because of this, I don't know how I'll ever be able to live with myself."

"He won't." Gibbs moved further into the room and frowned at the state of Tim. "He's getting worse?"

"Unfortunately. His fever rises and falls, though every time they think they have it under control, it spikes once again. They put him under a cooling blanket because it spiked to 104." Ducky dipped the wash cloth back in the water and wrung it out once again. "I believe that his high temperature is so high because of the infection being there on top of the LACV."

That news was like a punch to the gut for Gibbs and he couldn't help the heavy, leaden guilty feeling that pooled there. "Vance has called for an investigation. I think McGee's family 's filed a formal complaint."

"Do you blame them? Honestly, I don't and would do the same thing." Ducky answered fervently. "We have been foolish, Jethro. Very ,very foolish and I will not make the same mistake twice."

"No, we won't." Gibbs laid his hand on Tim's forehead and bent down low so that he could whisper in his ear. "Tim, you fight this, Son. You got that? You. Will. Not. Die!"

"I just hope he hears you, Je…Oh no! No, Timothy. You will not do this!" Ducky sprang into action as Tim started to convulse; his upper body rising off the bed as the seizure took hold. "Jethro! The call button!"

Gibbs pushed the button to the nurse's station and watched as Ducky tried his best to hold down Tim's arms so that he didn't tear out the IV port. "Jethro, remove the oxygen canula and hold the mask over his nose." He followed Ducky's instruction and soon had the mask over Tim's face. It wasn't long before Tim slackened beneath them.

"Thank heavens!" Ducky exclaimed and stood back so that he could check the IV and the monitors. Just as he turned away from Tim's hand, the monitors started squealing.

"Outta the way!" One of the nurses shoved Gibbs out of the way and held Tim's head so that she could yank the pillow away so that Tim was laying flat on his back. She pulled out the ambu bag and held it firmly over Tim's face so she could start pumping. "Dr. Mallard, until the crash team get here, I need you to help me! I need you to do the chest compressions."

Ducky sprung into action and released the catch that dropped the side of the bed. Being so small, he had to climb up and kneel on the bed for traction and between them, they started the CPR which would hopefully bring Tim back. Gibbs stumbled backwards and finally released the breath that he was holding before being shoved harshly out of the way as the crash team rushed in.

"What have we got Danielle?"

"I was on my way in after being called and heard the monitor. he's flatlined completely."

"He was seizing." Gibbs added gruffly and moved to the far side of the room near the door. "Then…"

"Jethro, that's fine." He hadn't noticed Ducky standing beside him and tore his gaze away from the activity in front of him. "Come, let them do their job. They don't need us here."

Gibbs cringed when he heard the whine of a defibrillator and let himself be guided out of the room, the sound of 'clear' and the thumping of the charge as it was discharged into Tim's body, following him. For the first time in years, he found himself doing something that he thought he'd forgotten how to do….He prayed.

"Boss!" Gibbs and Ducky walked into the waiting room and were met by Tony, Abby and Ziva all sitting there nervously awaiting news. Gibbs felt his throat constrict heavily and moved to sit down in one of the chairs.

"What's going on?" Tony asked looking worried as Gibbs leaned forward on his elbows and clutched at his head. "Ducky, what's happened?"

"Timothy had another seizure and flatlined. There is a crash team with him now." Ducky said sadly. "Anthony, I need you to…."

"Timothy McGee?" Danielle poked her head in to the waiting room and sighed with relief when she saw Ducky and Gibbs sitting there. "Oh, there you are. Good news, we got him back, but we're going to be moving him to ICU. The seizures are worrying, but we're not sure why he crashed the way he did. That's going to take some looking into. For now, the doctor has asked me to tell you that there is nothing that you can do tonight and that visitation has been cancelled for tonight. You should all go home and get some rest."

"How is he, my dear?" Ducky asked softly and moved to guide her out of the room. Once they were in the hall, he continued. "Please, I need to know."

"I'm not a doctor…"

"I understand that, but as you well know, I am listed as one of Tim's proxy's and as his personal physician. Just tell me what you know." Ducky tried to keep his voice as calm as possible and hoped that she would be at least able to list what was wrong with Tim.

"We believe the seizure has been caused by his high fever rather than the LACV, but we can't rule out the underlying cause just yet. The doctors have ordered some tests but they won't be back until tomorrow. What I can tell you, is that his fever has risen to 105 and as you know, it is now dangerously high and he needs more care than we can give him here."

Ducky nodded sadly. "Hence the move to ICU. Yes, I can see that. I am afraid my research into LACV has revealed the nastier side of the disease and I will admit to being worried about Timothy suffering from them. Hopefully, he won't be in that 1% of people that don't survive, or suffer the neurological affects that this can bring with it. The twitching has me worried."

"Sometimes it's temporary. That's something we won't know until he's finally out of the danger zone…Dr. Mallard, I really need to get back."

"Of course, my dear. Thank you for your help." Ducky watched her go and sighed heavily knowing that giving the news wasn't going to be easy. He gave himself a moment before walking back into the room to let everyone know, but when he got there, he was greeted by the site of Tony pacing back and forth trying to rationalize the meeting that they had all been called to in the morning.

"I mean, come on! We've all been there, Boss. What the hell is this going to prove?"

"Anthony! This is a long time coming! You know, of all the stupid, idiotic things that could have put Timothy in the hospital, it had to be that we all let him step into a mosquito infected hot tub that had been deemed unsafe. Surely even you can see what we did grievously wrong there!" Ducky found it difficult to keep his anger in check and huffed out a sigh.

"Yes, I can see that." Ziva admitted sadly. "I…I did nothing! I saw what you were all doing and let you do it knowing that it was wrong. Why? I do not know and right now, that very fact makes me nauseas."

Abby glanced at her friend and shook her head sadly. "Ziva, come on. We're all guilty of something here, I mean…."

"What did you do, Abbs?" Tony asked angrily. "Tell me, what part did you play of making Probie do whatever led to this?"

_**Thwack**_

"Calm down, DiNozzo!" Gibbs growled angrily and turned to Abby. "Abbs, what do you mean?"

"He came down afterwards to talk to me and I helped him with the bites. When he asked about the diseases that they can cause, I ignored him and told him to stop being a baby. He was going to get them checked out, but I convinced him that he didn't need to and told him to apply a cold compress and to make a paste of baking soda and water for the itching." She let out a small sob and wiped her eyes. "I…I didn't know he'd be sick like this. I thought…"

"Abigail, it wouldn't have shown up in any tests at that moment anyway. The disease incubates for a week, though I would have told him to apply some sort of antibiotic cream as well as the anti itch." Ducky soothed. "So, Jethro. What is the next step?"

"Next step? Tomorrow we're all meeting Vance at 0900 for the initial investigation meeting and then, who knows."

"Ah, well. I suppose we should all go and get some rest then." Ducky said as he pulled on his coat. "You are all welcome to come back to my house, there is plenty of room."

Ducky was happy that the girls agreed before cajoling Tony into coming with them. Gibbs was another kettle of fish though, and Ducky just knew, that no amount of being with people would hide the fact that his old friend had made a mistake and it was one that required Gibbs to hide away for the night in his basement, with a sanding block and his old friend…Jack Daniels.

Vance sat at his desk and sighed heavily. Yesterday, he had spent the afternoon preparing the official documentation that he would need for his meeting in half an hour, and now that the time had come, he felt leaden and reluctant to be the one to do this. With a sigh, he reached for the intercom on his desk to call Pam.

"_Director, how may I help you?"_

"Pam, did you arrange for the refreshments to be delivered up to us. This is going to be a long meeting and I don't want any interruptions."

_"Yes, __S__ir. I called to check and they are on their way up to you now. I'll let you know….Ah, __S__ir, they__'re __ here __now__."_

"Ok, bring them through." He sat back and watched as Pam carried in the large pots and set up the tea and coffee in the middle of the meeting table.

"Is that everything, Director?"

Vance nodded and offered her a small smile. "I think so. Is all the paperwork ready?"

"It's on my desk as we speak. I'll bring it through." She replied and moved to walk out of the door.

"Pam, just place them on the meeting table. We'll organize them when everyone gets here. Please, buzz through when they do."

"Yes, Sir." She replied and slipped out of the room. In a short minute, she returned with the files and placed them on his desk, before exiting again.

Vance stood up and moved to the table so that he could retrieve the file that Pam had marked as his and get himself a coffee. He sat down at the head of the meeting table and opened the file so that he could read the information again, knowing damn well, that last night they came damn close to losing Tim McGee and that right now, he was seriously sick with a disease that he should not have been exposed to in the first place.

"Damn it, Gibbs. You've really gone and done it this time." He thought as he took a sip of his coffee and sat back to watch the minutes tick by on his clock. "I have no idea how to help any of you."


	6. Chapter 6

**_Betcha all thought we'd forgotten you again didn't ya..._**

**_Well, nope. you are most definitely not forgotton and I think I owe you all a little explaination as to why our updates are so slow._**

**_As you know, it's me, Shelbylou that has been holding up proceedings. Well, I have had this little problem which is being down in the dumps and it's been going on for a few months. My drive to write went a bit..off for lack of a better word, but thanks to some happy pills from the doc, i'm feeling better and hope that I can pull my finger out now._**

**_I want to say a huge thank you to two wonderful people. the first is my wonderful friend and co author smartkid37 who has been both brilliantly patient and supportive, and the second is my wonderful friend Tigyr who has been equally supportive._**

**_You guys both rock and I love ya to bits and hope that one day, I can repay the favour._**

**_Well, sit back, read and enjoy guys_**

**_Shelbylou x_**

* * *

Vance sat at the meeting table with his hands folded tightly on the desk. The team had all walked in looking worse for wear and he doubted than any of them had slept at all given the circumstances...The circumstances! He was thinking about how bad they all looked when Tim was fighting for his life. The anger that had abated slightly at the sight of them flared up again leaving him raring to go in order to get these interviews started. Despite his distaste at the whole situation, he still found himself wanting to help the MRCT and affiliated employees; they weren't bad people, just lacked the judgment and care that he'd expect and warrant from his people. With any luck, this would serve as a stark reminder that they needed to rein in their antics and look after every member of their team, rather than hurting them.

"Well. I'm glad you all made it." He said dryly and unfolded his hands so that he could gesture towards the refreshments. "I took the liberty of providing refreshments because no doubt this will be a long meeting. I will however, endeavor to get it over with as soon as possible in order to get the individual interviews underway."

"What's this about, Leon?" Gibbs growled from where he was sat. "Why the show and tell? Just give us our due's already and let us concentrate on McGee!"

Vance's eyes narrowed slightly as he scrutinized the team leader. "The point to this, Agent Gibbs, is that Agent McGee's family have made a formal complaint. SecNav has ordered a full investigation into the situation and that's exactly what we are going to do. This has gone higher up than me, Gibbs; so you're going to have to bite the bullet and deal with it."

Gibbs glared momentarily and shook his head. "Damn it!"

"Boss. Come on, it's what we deserve." Tony said quietly and glanced up at Vance. "So, what happens next?"

"Thank you Agent DiNozzo." Vance was surprised by Tony's attitude, but didn't let it show. When he looked over at him, he could see the sorrow and shame that resided in his eyes. "Now, any complaint is take seriously as you all well know. I will admit to being surprised that it is against this team, but I completely understand why it was made. This is the first part of the disciplinary procedureand while you might not like it, failure to comply or attend the interviews will result in your employment with this Agency being terminated. Do I make myself clear?"

He was met with a litany of 'Yes Sirs and felt a small sense of satisfaction wash over him at the fact that he could rein this unruly bunch in...albeit under horrible circumstances.

"Okay. As you are all aware, I had a meeting with Agent McGee's mother and I have to say, some of the things that I have heard leave a lot to be desired. Apparently, Agent McGee contacted his mother after the initial incident and told her what happened. I am shocked, and appalled that a group of not only adults, but professional agents as well as our medically trained personnel could act in such a manner. I am deeply disappointed in all of you. I understand that some of you have had less of a part to play, but none-the-less, you still had a part. I want to lay the idea on the table, that should anything like this happen again, or any other complaints made, none of you will know what has hit you."

Tim's mother sighed heavily and rubbed tiredly at her eyes. Tim had been put on a ventilator during the night and it was one thing that she hoped never to see used on her children. The doctor had assured her that it was there to help Tim and that his body had been too weakened by the LACV and the infection, but still; it was horrible to see and it tore at her heart. She stood up and leaned forward to run her hand over his brow and frowned at the sweatiness she found there. That was another thing that she hated, the sweaty, feverish look that her son had and the fact that he had been placed under the cooling blankets once again throughout the night in an attempt to bring the fever down before it caused any more seizures. This was just so wrong, no parent should ever have to see their child looking so helpless and weak. No person who'd only been following orders, should be going through was by the by though, and right now, despite knowing how wrong it was, she had to push away those thoughts and concentrate on her son.

"Mrs McGee." A kindly looking doctor stepped up to the bed and smiled warmly at her.

"Please, call me Angela." She returned quietly, and offered up a small, rueful smile that didn't reach her eyes. "How is my son, Doctor...?"

"Hamilton. But you can call me Jake." Angela couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"That's my husband's name too."

"It's a good name." The doctor joked and went about checking the equipment. "I see his temperature has dropped once again. That's good, it's more manageable like this..." He paused at the look on her face. "We had to put him under the cooling blankets again because it rose to 105 again. Right now, it's hovering at just over 103, but we're going to keep him cool for the time being. Right now, the infection seems stubborn, but we're trying him on new antibiotics to get that under control."

Angela nodded slightly and picked up the wet washcloth from the basin of cold water on the nightstand. "And the LACV?"

"It's difficult to say at the moment. With the infection raging the way it is, it's difficult to distinguish between some of the symptoms. Hopefully within a couple of days, we'll be able to see a marked difference. For the time being, all we can do is treat the infection and treat the symptoms that present."

"Oh...um, I see. Thank you, doctor."

"Angela, I'm sorry I can't tell you more. We will do our level best to get Tim through this; that I can promise."

Angela nodded and leaned forward to wipe Tim's face with the washcloth. She smiled warmly as she remembered doing this when he was younger and suffering from his first bout of flu. It wasn't the fact that he was sick; no, it was the fact that he fell asleep cuddled up to her as she carded her hands through his hair.

"Doctor..." Jake turned his attention away from the monitors to look at her. "Will there be any...I mean, he won't suffer any lasting effects will he?"

"I can't answer that, Angela. I'm sorry. There are certain risk factors associated with LAVC that could cause long-term disability. The most predominant being, neuroinvasive disease, which could cause epilepsy, paralysis or something as mild as muscular tics. The seizures he's been suffering with could also cause problems." He paused at the look of worry on her face and shook his head. "It's nothing that can't be treated or dealt with. Let's get him through this first, and then we'll worry about that."

Angela nodded and put the washcloth back in the bowl. With a heavy heart, she sat down and laced her fingers through Tim's. "He's strong. He'll make it." She vowed.

Two hours later found everyone sitting around one of the tables in the conference room waiting to be called. The initial meeting had been hard, and there was more than few home truths that had been discussed there. For all intent purposes, it was nothing that they hadn't deserved, and even Gibbs felt shame shoot through him at what had happened.

"I don't get why you're here though?" Tony said loudly and pointed towards Ziva and Abby. "You didn't do anything."

Ziva sighed heavily and shook her head. "That is the problem, Tony. I did not do anything. I knew it was wrong to let him climb in that hot tub, and yet I let him do it. I did not question anything. That in itself, makes me just as guilty."

Tony nodded and understood exactly what she meant. "What about you, Abbs?"

"Me? I don't know. I mean, I didn't..." She trailed off when she remembered the conversation she'd had with Tim once they had got back to NCIS. "I mean, he came down to talk to me and was upset at what happened...oh my God! Tony, I told him to basically stop whining about it and that I would have done the same thing!"

"Abbs..." Gibbs growled loudly from where he was sat and leaned forward. "He came to you and you told him what?"

"I...I...Gibbs, he was fine, I mean, there was nothing wrong with him then. I told him that if he was so damn bothered by it, then he should go and talk to you and to leave me alon..." Realization dawned on her then that she had been harsh with Tim because she was struggling with the evidence that had presented to her. He'd wanted to talk, and had turned to the one person that he thought would understand. "Oh no! I was horrible to him. I should have...I shou..." Abby covered her face and started to cry at what she had done.

"Abigail, we are all wrong in some capacity here. I myself am deeply ashamed and horrified at what we did." Ducky hung his head momentarily before sighing. "And I am more ashamed at the fact that it took a severe illness as a result to make us realize that we were wrong. We are his friends; not the monsters that we all fight on a daily basis. What in the world does that make us all? What kind of people are we?"

It was strange to hear Ducky so brow beaten over the situation and Gibbs felt dumbstruck that his old friend had been so deeply affected by it. "We're all to blame. We need to man up and then figure out what we can do to make it up to McGee."

Before anyone could answer, the door to the conference room opened and Pam walked in. "Agent Gibbs. The Director would like to see you know. You are in..." She opened the file to check the information she had before continuing. "Interview Room One."

Gibbs stood up to follow her out of the room leaving everyone sitting there in shock. Tony was the first to break the silence.

"Interview Room One? Crap! That can't be good."

Jimmy leaned forward and spoke for the first time since being put in the conference room. "No, it can't, but it needs to be official."

"Yeah but..." Tony started but was cut off by Ziva.

"Tony, it does not matter where they take place. This is fine, so sit back and shut up!"

Tony huffed indignantly at her tone but sat back and crossed his arms across his chest. He sat there thinking about the day and what he would have done differently had he known what the consequences were going to be...Had I known? I should have known then that Probie was in danger, but it was just one more chance to get at the guy!

Gibbs walked into the investigation room and frowned when he looked at the chair that the suspects usually habited. It was strange being on this side of the table, but he'd been there before and knew that he deserved being in this position, this time. With a small nod of assent, he sat down in the chair and placed his coffee in front of him.

"Agent Gibbs." Vance greeted with a cool, professional tone. "You know why you are here, so how about we make a start because I have a lot that I need to get through today."

"It's your show, Leon."

"For the purpose of this interview, let's keep it professional, Agent Gibbs." Gibbs' eyes narrowed at Vance's tone and nodded.

"Okay. Director Vance."

Vance opened up the file and started to read through the first page of information before linking his hands in front of him and resting them on the file. "So, can you tell me what happened out there when your team arrived at the scene, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs thought back and tried to recall the exact conversations that had taken place. Sure, it was bound to be sketchy, but he found himself inwardly cringing at the one thing that popped to mind...Swim Tim.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Le...Director. We made mistakes, we've learnt by them and we plan to try and make it up to him."

"Not enough, Gibbs. I need you to tell me exactly what happened." Vance stated calmly and turned to signal the tech in the room behind the mirror to turn of the camera. He glanced up and saw that the red light had gone off. "Look, this isn't something that I want to do, but it's official. I need to find out what happened and build my report so that I can submit it in response to the McGee Family's Complaint. Just co-operate with me here."

"Damn it, Leon. I'm trying to!" Gibbs huffed out indignantly before shaking his head and deflating. "We caused this. It's our fault and yeah, he warned us. We didn't listen to him; I didn't listen and look where it got him."

"Just tell me what happened that day so we can get this over with, okay?"

"Yeah."

Vance sat back in the chair and waited patiently for Gibbs to start the conversation. After a couple of minutes, the silence hung heavily between them. "You know, your co-operation will work in your favor Gibbs. I'm not out to get you."

"I know."

"Alright, I'll begin shall I?" At Gibbs' stare, he opened the file and started to read. "You care to tell me why you thought it was necessary to ignore Agent McGee's advice when he told you it was a red tag situation?"

"In what way? The biohazard crew?" Vance nodded and noticed that Gibbs seemed to visibly deflate slightly. "I don't know, Leon. I just don't know."

Gibbs sat there quietly for a moment to recall the situation.

"Fish him out."

"Uh, Boss, this really is a Hazmat situation. You know, they did red-tag this hot tub or mosquito larva. I think we should call..."

Why didn't he listen to Tim then? What in the world made him ignore his agent's concern and push it away as if it was nothing. Damn stubbornness? Who knew?

"You don't know? Gibbs, you gotta give me more of an explanation that that I'm afraid. I can't just report back that you ignored advice and you don't know why."

"I know." Gibbs shook his head. "What do you want me to say? I made an error in judgement? Hell, yeah! I did. I didn't think the risk was that high and he had the waders on."

"He had shorter boots on than what protection the waders would have provided him. What you let him get into that tub with didn't cover his legs properly."

"I thought they would."

Vance narrowed his eyes slightly and sat back in his chair. "Ok. Didn't Agent McGee mention it? I find it hard to believe he wouldn't. I know I would have."

"Ah...Archimedes' theory, Boss. My foot mass is going to displace enough liquid to breach over the top of the boots."

"He did. I can't deny that, but hell, Leon. We've been in situations worse than that before and none of my team have been sick because of it."

"Well they are now." Vance said dryly and sighed heavily. "Gibbs, I've got to tell you, this is not boding well for you."

"Didn't expect it too." Gibbs answered quietly. "I don't care about that right now. What I care about is getting McGee better and back in the field."

"You sure he's going to want that. Let's face it, you all put him danger and his trust in you all to keep him safe is compromised here."

Gibbs glared at Vance before leaning forward and leaning on the table. "Well yeah, Leon, but I don't plan on letting this be the way this ends up. McGee's trust is too important. I will work to earn it back. "


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N – well hello there to all you wonderfully people that have reviewed, added to faves and followed. For that we want to thank you because you are all, truly brilliant.**

**Secondly, we are not medically trained, so any medical stuff in here has been courtesy of google (whch is usually a wonderful thing lol). So, we would like to apologize to you for any inconsistencies in here, but it's fanfiction and we hope that the chapter will distract you away from any errors.**

**Ok, Onwards and upwards…the next chapter xx**

* * *

Bitten Chapter 7

Tim lay there feeling hot and sweaty as he slowly climbed his way back to consciousness. It was as if he was fighting against something thick and heavy as he slowly swam his way up and opened his eyes. The first thing he heard, was the beating of a heart monitor; the sound confusing him as he started to gaze around the room with glassy eyes. He finally caught sight of the beeping machine and let his eyes stray to the bags of fluid that hung above him and dripped vital fluid and medications into a tube that was connected to the back of his hand.

"Huh…?" He mumbled before feeling a soft hand on his forearm.

"Tim honey, are you awake?" _Mom? Why…?_

"Yeah…kinda…why?"

Angela frowned at the confusion she saw on her son's face and sighed heavily. "You're really sick, sweetheart, but we need to you get better now, alright?" She gently brushed one of the short, sweaty bangs away from his forehead where it had plastered itself down against his forehead.

"Sick?...oh…" Tim frowned heavily. "Kinda remember…bitten?"

"Yes, sweetheart. You were bitten by mosquito's and it's made you sick. You're leg is infected too where they got you. Don't worry though. The doctors think they have the right antibiotics now."

The exhaustion was pulling him down once again and Tim let his eyes slip closed. Right before he drifted off completely, his thoughts moved to his team and Gibbs. With a heavy sigh, he opened his eyes and gazed blearily at his mom.

"What is it, honey. You can sleep you know? In fact, the doctors said you need as much as possible."

"Gibbs?...where is everyone?"Through the slits of his eyes, he watched as his mothers face darkened before she shook her head and smiled.

"I don't know. Please, Tim. Rest."

Tim fell asleep with the nagging feeling that something was going on, but his weak body was fighting against him and before he question any more, he fell into a deep sleep that would hopefully, help him heal.

*****NCIS*****

"So, Agent DiNozzo. From what I understand, rather than help your team mate, you mocked him and did nothing to help." Vance sat scrutinizing Tony as he started off the interview. He knew and had seen all of Tony's jokey, boyish ways but never, in a million years had he thought that a situation like this would arise from the MRCT.

"Director. Will all due respect, Pro…sorry, Agent McGee could have said no!" Tony said and leaned forward so that he could rest his elbows on the table.

"Had you been paying attention at what was going on at the scene, instead of your incessant joking and playing around, you would have heard him attempt to do just that!" Agent McGee's words are documented. Do you need them read back to you?"

Tony had no response to that sharp reminder, but he wasn't done trying to play this down.

"And another thing; would you have said no to Gibbs?"

Tony glared at Vance briefly before dipping his head and giving it a shake. "No…"

"Then don't you think, that being in that situation would have merited a little bit of help from the people that Agent McGee knew and trusted to have his back?" The Directors tone was cold and calculating as he asked the question and he could see Tony starting to squirm.

"I didn't think it was that big a deal." Tony shrugged. "I mean, come on. It's just water…."

"Water that was infected with mosquito Larvae, red tagged and needed a biohazard crew to empty it. And you didn't think it was important enough to have your team mate's six? I expected better of you Agent DiNozzo. I don't know what sickens me more, the fact that you did nothing then or the fact that you're trying so hard to blow it off now, while your teammate fights for his life!"

Tony snorted out a shocked laugh and shook his head as he thought back to what had happened that day.

_"Swim Tim."_

Tony cringed slightly when he remember what had come next and knew that right now, he was the lowest of the low.

"Agent DiNozzo?" Vance prompted and waited for Tony to continue.

"Sorry…." Tony trailed of as memories of what had been said ran rampant through his mind and twisted the knife of guilt deep in his gut.

"_This reminds me of the I Love Lucy grape-squishing episode._

"Damn it! Stupid…." Tony slammed a fist down on the interview table and shook his head. "I made a freaking TV reference Director Vance. I said that the situation reminded me of one of the I Love Lucy episodes."

Vance narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Let me guess, the grape-squishing one." The sarcasm that laced the Director's voice was heavy and dripped off every word. "And what happened then?"

"Palmer agreed and said he loved that episode. We got into a short conversation before being stopped because it was inappropriate…in hindsight…."

"You were cruel and failed to recognize the dangers that were there."

Tony felt Vance's words as though the man had physically punched him. "Yeah. Something like that." Tony agreed and tried to fight back the disappointment and anger at himself…and the rest of the team.

*****NCIS*****

The second time Tim woke up, he felt hot; not just because of the temperature in the room…no, internally hot and despite the coldness of the covers that were draped over him, he couldn't help but wonder why the internal fire that raged within him wasn't subsiding. All of a sudden, he because aware of his teeth chattering and realized that he was shivering harshly.

"Ok, the blanket and antipyretics are doing their job. The fever is dropping to a more acceptable level. Leave it on and keep pushing the antibiotics. I want another blood work on him as well Shirley, send to the labs ASAP."

Tim blinked at the voice and tried to make sense of what was being said. _Cooling blanket…fever?_

"Doctor. He's awake."

A kindly face appeared in front of him and he realized then, that he recognized the man from a long time ago. "Dr. Pitt?"

Brad smiled warmly and pulled out his penlight. "Good, you remember me. Makes the explanation a little bit easier. Tim, your fever spiked again and you had a seizure. I need you to answer a couple of questions and I know you feel groggy at the moment, but I have to ask."

Tim nodded once and let his eyes roam around the room. A glance at the visitors chair told him that there was no one but medical personnel in here at the moment and he felt something constrict in his chest briefly.

"What's your full name?" Tim turned his gaze back to Brad and frowned.

"Um..Timothy McGee."

Brad smiled and nodded. "Good. Okay, where do you work?"

"NCIS…I….Yeah, NCIS. Where's…"

A gentle hand on his cheek brought him back from where his mind had started to wander. "You're doing well, Tim. Okay, two more to go now. Do you know where you are?"

Tim's eyes flitted around the room and vague memories of waking up before filtered through the mud. "Bethe…sda." With a frown he searched Brad's eyes to see whether he had passed the test and felt his eyelids starting to droop.

"Okay. That's good. Real Good. One more now, Tim. Do you know why you are here?"

_Why am I here? I don't know, why are you asking me? You're the doctor! _Tim thought before shaking his head slightly and slipping back into a restless sleep.

*****NCIS*****

Jimmy sat in the interrogation room shaking like a leaf. He'd always been nervous around Gibbs and the Director, but now; in this situation, he was feeling as though he was about to run the gauntlet.

"Relax Mr. Palmer. I just had a few questions to ask." Vance walked in and sat down in the chair opposite. Jimmy nodded and wrung his hands where they sat in his lap under the desk. "I'll try and make this as quick and painless as possible, but I need your full co-operation."

"Yes sir." Jimmy replied and nodded his head. "I shall do my best."

Vance smiled slightly and nodded back. "I know you will. First things first I would like to know about the conversation you had with Agent DiNozzo while Agent McGee was climbing into the hot tub."

Jimmy's eyes were wide with panic as he searched for the answer that the imposing man sitting in front of him wanted. "Sir?"

"I know you and Agent DiNozzo had an improper conversation about an I Love Lucy episode. I just want your take on it please."

"I…We…" The autopsy gremlin cleared his throat and sat up straight in an effort to try and gain his composure. "We were joking about Tim getting in reminding us of an episode. It's one of my favorites so I got caught up in the moment. I know it wasn't right and I apologize for my actions. It's just that…"

Vance held up his hand and shook his head. "You know it wasn't right, but I'm not the person you need to be apologizing too. I don't know what went on out there beyond what I've been told and I have to say, right now I am not happy or impressed with the way anyone handled the situation. I currently have a man in Bethesda fighting for his life because of decisions and actions that his team and friends made."

The blush that climbed up from Jimmy's neck was hot and uncomfortable but he knew that it was nothing to what Tim had to be feeling now. "I know, Sir. Believe me, I know. Agent McGee is one of my closest friends and what we thought was a little bit of banter at the time turned into something much more serious. I have to live with that and it's something that I will regret for the rest of my life."

Vance was stunned. Sure, he knew Jimmy would be remorseful, but the man in front of him was so guilt ridden that it was palpable and hung heavily in the room. "Mr. Palmer, I have to say that while that's commendable, I am not pleased with the way that the situation played out. Bear in mind, part of being an NCIS employee is to act professionally at all times and from what I have heard, not only had protocols been breached but everyone involved acted in a manner that I will not tolerate or take lightly should it happen again. As it stands, my hands are tied with this investigation because the complaint from Agent McGee's family went to the top and even if it hadn't been filed, I'd still be raking all of you over the coals because I will not have an employee of this agency put at risk unnecessarily again."

"I understand." Jimmy replied softly and dropped his head to stare at the table top. "I shall tender my resignation as soon as I leave here, Director Vance."

Leon's head snapped up to glare at the young man sitting in front of him. "Like hell you will, Mr. Palmer. I'm not after any of your resignations and will not accept them. What I want is to get to the bottom of this and move forward in a way that suits everyone."

"And if it ends up with us all being fired?" Jimmy's question was quiet and shaky.

"In situations like this, it's always a possibility, but you are not tendering your resignation."

Jimmy nodded once and pulled his head up to look the director directly in the eye. "I don't know what else to say."

"How about you give me _your_ account of the day?"

*****NCIS*****

Angela sat there with her head pillowed against Jakes shoulder. The past couple of hours had been sheer hell and right now, she wanted nothing more than to go in and sit with her son.

"Honey, have you managed to get hold of Sarah?" Jake asked gently as he rubbed his wife's shoulders gently.

"She's on her way now." Angela sobbed gently. "I want to be with him. I need to be in there."

"I know you do. I feel the same way but right now, they are doing what they can to get his fever down, so we have to be patient, honey."

Angela couldn't do anything but sniffle into her husband's shoulder as the turmoil of seeing her child that like washed over her. "No parent should ever outlive their child Jake." She whispered softly and was startled when she was pushed up and turned around so that she was looking into the same pale green eyes that Tim had inherited.

"Damn it! You will not talk like that! You hear me, Angela. Tim will get through this and he will survive...!" He huffed out a breath and closed his eyes briefly to regain his senses. "Honey please. We need to think positively right about now. Nothing…and I mean nothing…will stop that boy from fighting because that's just what he is. A fighter."

"I know Jake and I'm sorry, but seeing him so weak and convulsing like that scared me. I don't know what to do for him. Even after the crash, I could distract Tim somehow by taking his mind off the pain. Now…Jake, he didn't know we were there."

"He will now, Mrs. McGee." Brad walked in looking tired, but relieved. "He woke up briefly and the temperature is coming down nicely. We've just take away the cooling blanket, though we will be keeping up with the antipyretics for the time being. It's quite a stubborn fever he's got going on there, but the infected wounds seem to be looking a lot better than they had."

Angela doubled over with relief and felt herself being pulled into her husband's arms once more. "Dr. Pitt. What about the seizure? Is Tim okay?"

Brad laughed and nodded his head. "He is. I did a basic neuro exam and the only question he couldn't answer was why he was here, but I suspect that's because he was on the verge of falling asleep. If you want to go and sit with him again, you're more than welcome to."

"Thank you, doctor." Angela replied before composing herself and walking out of the waiting room with Jacob to go and sit with Tim once again.

*****NCIS*****

"Dr. Mallard. I presume you know why you are here."

The M.E. nodded once and picked up the tea that he had brought in with him. "I do, Leon and really, so formal?"

"Unfortunately the situation demands it." Vance replied somberly and waited for Ducky to sip at his tea.

"Well then Director Vance. How about we get this over with now, because I have some guests downstairs from another case that will need attending to."

Vance found Ducky's tone strange and cocked his head slightly. "As you wish. Dr. Mallard, would you mind telling me why you allowed Agent McGee to step into the water? I mean, you are from a medical background so surely you knew the risks."

Ducky sat back and nodded. "I did but I saw them as minimal at the time. Director, you have to understand that we come up against things like mosquito's all the time out there in the field, so this wasn't really an unusual situation."

"Yes, but there was a red tag. I of all people understand the importance of that, Dr. Mallard, even if you have all failed to see the importance. I will admit, your blasé attitude has me a little bit worried."

With a heavy sigh, the glasses came off and Ducky sat there cleaning them as he explained. "My concern right now is not my own guilt or my part that I played. I am more worried about getting Timothy through this and then trying to atone for my sins. Director, I understand that this is procedure and you need to do this and I shall endeavor to make this easy for you. I am guilty of neglecting that young man and ignoring his worries. I should have said something, but I didn't and for that I am eternally sorry because I did know the risks that LACV carries. Should Timothy be permanently disabled because of it…." Ducky ducked his head and sighed. "I don't know how I would live with myself. I am already trying to get through the days by making myself busy because heaven knows his family have blocked us from seeing the dear boy."

"Ducky." Vance said softly and motioned behind him for the tape to be paused. "Listen to me now. I want to get this shitstorm over with and the only thing I'm concerned with right now is getting Tim the help he needs. Unfortunately, his family have lodged a complaint that needs to be dealt with and that's something that SecNav wants investigating. All I want you to do, is tell me what happened from the beginning."

The elderly M.E. sat back and replaced his glasses. "Then let me tell you what happened from my perspective Leon. Firstly though, I would like it on the record that Ziva and Abby didn't play a part in this. The guilt of ignoring the situation is already tearing them apart, but they didn't have anything to do with young Timothy getting in that hot tub."

The Director motioned for the tape to start again and nodded. "Okay, for the record you have exonerated Probationary agent Ziva Da'vid and Forensic scientist Abigail Scuito. I have only one question linked to that, and that is where was Probationary Agent Da'vid at the time of the incident."

"She was getting statements from the realtor and the exterminator. Both of which were conducted near the vehicles and a good distance away from the scene."

"Thank you doctor. Now, from the beginning please."

*****NCIS*****

Tim woke up and shivered slightly as the dregs of the raging fever ebbed away. It hadn't broken yet, not by a long shot, but it wasn't as high as what it had been and right now was sitting at a safer level. He reached up and scratched at the nasal canula before Angela reached over and pulled down his hand.

"Leave that alone, sweetheart. Right now you need it."

"Mom?"

Angela smiled warmly and ran a damp cloth over her son's face to freshen him up a bit. "Dad's here too."

Tim's eyes tracked over to where his father stood and his lips quirked up into a small smile. "Hey Dad."

"How're you feeling, Tim?"

"Like crap…." Tim replied before looking around. "Where is everyone? Everytime I wake up, the team's not here. Don't they care?"

Angela closed her eyes and sucked in a huge breath. "Of course they do, Honey."

"Then why?"

Jake took hold of Tim's hand and squeezed gently. "Because they're not allowed right now, son. We filed a complaint against them and the way that the handled the situation because it's not fair that you are suffering and sick while they get away with what they did."

Tim felt his throat constrict and wanted to yell at his parents. It took a couple of minutes before he got his emotions in check. "You did what?..Dro..Drop the com…complaint. Now! Mom, you gotta sto..stop this. Please!"

The heart monitor started beeping faster and faster as Tim's fevered agitation took a torrid toll on his body.

"Tim. Calm down, please. It's okay, everything is okay."

"No! It's not!...It's really, really not…"

With that last statement, Brad ran in and assessed Tim's condition once again. "Okay, both of you out. Now!"

Angela and Jacob left the room as Brad tried to calm Tim down and soothe him. When that didn't work, they watched as he injected something into their Son's IV that calmed him down.

"Oh God. Jake, what have we done?"

"We did what we had to." Jacob replied with a somber voice.

"I know, but look at him. Damn it, look how upset he got because of what we did!"

As they gazed on, they watched as their son's heart rate returned to normal. They knew, that no matter what, there was no turning back now and their only wish, was that one day, Tim would forgive them.


	8. Chapter 8

**What can we say, we got bitten by the _Bitten _bug lol. So, here it is as a special treat because you haven't had to wait very long, Bitten Chapter 8. Enjoy :D xx**

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Doctor Brad Pitt walked back into Tim's room and smiled slightly at the sight of all three McGee's sleeping peacefully. It wasn't unexpected truth be told and the fact that Angela and Jacob had barely left Tim's side since arriving was a definite precursor that the pair were going to crash soon. He walked over to the small sofa that sat in the corner and knelt down in front of the sleeping woman.

"Angela. I think you and Jake should go and find somewhere to rest. I can suggest some good hotels if you need them." Angela snuffled slightly before blearily opening her eyes and looking around the room. Her gaze finally settled on Tim and she felt herself relax slightly as she took in the comfortable, gently snoring that both her men did when they were flat out. "Good afternoon."

With a start, Angela realised that Brad was kneeling in front of her smiling softly. "Oh…is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine and you two have been here for too long now. Go find a hotel and get some proper rest because there's not much more that the two of you can do at the moment anyway." He could see that Tim's mother possessed a stubborn streak and stopped her from arguing by raising his hand when she opened her mouth. "Doctors orders. Do you really think Tim would want you both dropping with exhaustion?...No, didn't think so. Look, he's not going anywhere and I have your cell phone numbers if anything happens, so please go! Get some rest and don't come back here today. It's coming up to dinner time now, so that'll give you time to grab some dinner and go and get some real rest. He'll be here in the morning when you return."

"Doctor Pitt, I understand that you ar…"

"Mom…sleep" Angela looked over to the bed and saw Tim's pale green eyes gazing back at her glassily. "Please."

She heard Jacob chuckle beside her and turned to glare at him gently. "What?" He asked his beloved wife. "I think they've both got a point because damn, woman. My back is aching from sleeping on her. Angela, please?"

With a glance back over at Tim, she smiled warmly and nodded. "Tim, honey, promise me you'll get someone to call if you need us."

"I..will."

"Okay then, guess that's settled. You said you could recommend some hotels?" She asked Brad and watched his brow furrow with confusion.

"You heard that?"

"Yes I did. You think I was truly asleep? A mother never fully sleeps when her babies need them."

Brad laughed loudly and stood up. "I can't argue with that. I'll go get one of the nurses to pull of the addresses for you so you can head out. In the meantime, you…" Brad pointed towards Tim. "Make sure your mother doesn't go back on her end of the deal.

Tim nodded and closed his eyes, once again drifting off.

*****NCIS*****

Gibbs stormed back into the squadroom after going to buy coffee for everyone and with a heavy sigh, changed direction to the conference room where they'd all been holed up for the past 7 hours. It was strange and it struck him that his team should be sitting at their desks working cold cases at least. Hell, Ducky and Palmer had been allowed to go back down to autopsy so why the hell was everyone else being holed up in that room?

He glanced up and saw Vance walking out of office talking on his phone and gave a curt nod in the Directors direction before pushing the door open and stalking inside.

"Boss, any news?" Tony asked anxiously from where he was pacing a hole in the floor.

"Nope. Sit down before you fall through to the offices downstairs." Gibbs handed his senior field agent his coffee and turned to give the girls their drinks.

"Thank you." Ziva said quietly as she accepted tea and went back to staring out of the window that faced the river.

"Gibbs. Have you heard how Timmy is? I…" Abby broke of with a small sob and shook her head. "I don't' care what happens to me or us as long as Tim's okay."

"I know, Abbs. Vance'll let us know when he gets back." She nodded slightly and took the cafpow from Gibbs before sitting back down and gazing at the straw looking forlorn and hurt.

Gibbs sat down and looked over his team. Every one of them looked as through they had been put through the wringer and right now he doubted whether they would ever be able to forgive themselves for their part in this. Well, maybe not Ziva and Abby, the girls hadn't done anything.

"Stop it."

"Stop what exactly, Ziva?" Gibbs spat out and turned to glare at her.

"Blaming yourself! Damn it, yes, things were done wrong but rather than wallowing in your own feelings, maybe you need to try and figure out ways of getting McGee to trust us again. I am angry and I am hurt, but most of all I am worried because even if he does get through this with no further effects, the chances are we have not only lost an integral part of this team, we have lost a friend."

The silence in the room hung heavily as they all digested Ziva's words. She was right and seemed to have pinpointed the issue perfectly, but still, it wasn't easy to let go of the feelings that they had. They all sat there quietly contemplating when Vance walked in.

"Alright people. Get back to work. Miss Da'vid, Miss Scuito, I don't need to speak to you. Thanks to Dr Mallard, you have both been exonerated from playing a part in the situation. As it stands, I would prefer it if none of you would contact the hospital just yet until we know exactly how this is going to go."

"But…" Abby jumped in with a look of sheer horror on her face. The one thing she wanted right now, was to see how Tim was and even that was something out of her reach right now.

"Ms. Scuito, Agent McGee is okay. I spoke to Dr Pitt a moment ago and his condition is stable for the moment. The only problem is the fact that his fever keep spiking, but they have managed to keep that down now for a few hours. Please, go back to your duties. I understand that you have all been here since this morning, so if you would all prefer to go home, then that's fine with me. I need to write up the reports and then well go from there."

"So you haven't made a decision yet?" Tony growled. "Oh come on!"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs snapped command earned him a frown as Tony tried to get his temper in check. "Listen to me! The Director does the investigation, writes it up and sends it to SecNav. It's outta our hands now, so you're just gonna have to wait."

"Thank you ,Gibbs. I'll be in my office if anyone wants to discuss this. I would suggest you all go home and get some rest, but I know you all too well and know that's probably not what you want to be doing right now. Just don't stay here all night."

Vance left, knowing that right now the MRCT team would want to stick close…he just wished that camaraderie had been shown when this whole torrid affair started.

*****NCIS*****

Tim felt his mothers hand rest gently on his forehead before carding through his hair. He knew it was his mother because that perfume was the one she'd always worn and it's delicate scent never failed to soothe him somehow.

"Sweetie, me and your dad are going to head out. We'll be back in the morning."

He opened his eyes and blearily gazed into his mothers pretty hazel eyes before nodding. With a small sigh, he grabbed her free hand from where it rested on the rails and pulled it close to his heart.

"Mom…drop…drop the complaint Please?"

Angela frowned and shook her head. "Why? Tim, they were wrong."

"N…No. I was wrong. Shou…should've said n..no. Didn't think the ri..risk was that big. Please? I love that job and…and wann..I want to go back."

"You…oh sweetheart. They won't do anything to you when you go back. You know that right?"

"Please…"

"We'll see. We have to go." Angela leaned down and kissed her son's too warm forehead before standing up and brushing his hair back one more time. "See you tomorrow."

With that, she moved out of the way to let Jacob say his goodbyes and made her way out of the room before the hold she had on her tears broke. As soon as she stepped out, the dam crumbled and she stood in the middle of the corridor crying silently until two strong arms wrapped round her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Shh, honey. It's going to be okay." Jacob soothed gently and let go to turn her round so she was looking at him. "He's going to be fine, sweetie. You're exhausted and need to eat. Come on."

"Jake, what if we've made a mistake. What if filing that grievance was the wrong thing to do, I mean, I didn't know how much he loved that job and didn't think he'd react the way he has. What if…"

"We've done the right thing and he goes back to more respect and better treatment." Jake filled in. "We'll think about it tomorrow with clear, rested heads, okay?"

With a nod, she leaned up and kissed her husband gently before they both made their way out leaving Tim alone in the hospital to get some rest.

*****NCIS*****

Tim lay there and closed his eyes as the nurse came in and did her hourly checks on his vitals. He knew damn well that he wasn't due to see a doctor for another couple of hours and hoped that the window of time was enough, to put his plan into action. Sure, he still felt sick and weak, but he couldn't let it happen…he just couldn't.

Once she was done, he cracked his eyes open a fraction and watched as she jotted her findings down in her chart. Right, stage 1 of his plan needed some careful pleading on his part and she was the right person to do it with. "Hey…"

"Agent McGee! Well it's good to see those pretty eyes open. I swear, every time I come in, you're dead to the world. How're you feeling?" The kind nurse replaced the chart and walked over to the nightstand to pick up a small, plastic cup with a straw. "It's just water, but it'll help with the dryness."

Tim nodded and accepted the straw before taking small sips. "Thanks…Um Emma?"

"What do you need." She replied warmly with a smile.

"Can you take these off for a little while. They're itchy." Tim gestured towards the stickers that were attached to his chest monitoring his vitals. "Please, just for a while."

She seemed to pause for a moment before shaking her head. "Sorry honey, no can do. We need to be able to see how you are doing at the nurse's station and this little gizmo is wired up to monitor you there as well."

Tim frowned and sighed heavily. "But, if they are itchy, then I can speak to you doctor to see if there's anyway we can take them off. I don't think he'll agree, but I'm not doing it without his consent."

"Thanks." With a smile, and a yawn, Tim let his eyes drift shut once again and listened to Emma's movement as she shuffled around the room and left. He peeked out of narrow slitted eyes and prayed for some miracle that would allow him to do what he needed to do.

*****NCIS*****

Tony frowned at the sound of the wind howling outside and noticed the way that the wind was blowing harshly over the river. It was just their luck, that they'd stayed on to work through some of the cold cases that they had and now, driving back home was going to be horrible given the weather conditions. He glanced over at the TV that showed the weather and cringed when he noticed the storms making their way in.

"Urgh…Hey Boss, what about we go home now and avoid the storms. I mean, it's getting pretty bad out there anyway and we've gotta drive home in it."

"DiNozzo, right now, I don't want any of ya driving through this anyway. I know for a fact your old mustang needs new tires and brake pads, and Ziva's on public transportation since her cars in the garage. It'll blow over soon enough, so sit back and keep workin'."

Tony scowled and glanced over to Ziva, who had sat up and was looking at the proceedings with interest. "Sorry, Tony but I for one do not want to be waiting for a bus in a storm. I would much rather be sitting here. You are warm and have coffee, yes?"

"Well yeah, Ziva, but right now I could be making my way home with a pizza so I can watch the Magnum re-runs on my 50 inch plasma. NOT sitting here, working my way through cases that are as old as the ark and trying to make sense of them."

"DiNozzo! Just wait till it passes and then you can go home. Until then, get working." Gibbs stood up and walked over to Tony's desk so he could glare down at his senior agent. "We're behind anyway so use this time to catch up. If you don't wanna work through the cold cases we've got, why not finish that report you were supposed to have on my desk yesterday."

Tony gulped and nodded his head. "Yeah, okay. On it Boss." Gibbs stalked off to the break room and came back ten minutes later carrying drinks for them all.

"My own blend so it should be good." Tony and Ziva just stared at the boss as they accepted their drinks. This was the second time today that he'd gotten up to get them drinks and it was weird. Tony thought back to after Kate's death and knew that whatever had happened out there at the hot tub, had affected Gibbs so much, that he'd reverted to being nice once again. He tore his gaze away and looked over at Ziva. She had torn her eyes away as well and was currently sending Tony a questioning look that left him with nothing to do but shrug his shoulders. Just as he did, the elevator dinged and they all sat there stunned as they gaped at the sight of the figure that stepped out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys.**

**We haven't forgotten about this story (betcha though we had didn't ya!) **

**Hope you enjoy the next istallement of Bitten and sorry for the long update.**

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Brad was cursing the weather something rotten and was currently on the phone berating the maintenance guys for not getting the generator to the hospital up and running. This wasn't something that they could just ignore; no, this was a situation that could potentially be life threatening for more than one person here.

"I don't care what it takes. Just do it!...No? what the hell do you mean no? Look, we've got a hospital full of patients that rely on this place being operational and right now we've got no power and can't do our jobs properly. It's too damn dark to see anything and we're run off our feet trying to monitor patients the old fashioned way...yes, I understand that but...what? Look, please, just do what you can." With that, he slammed the phone down and huffed out a harsh breath. The one thing he was grateful for was the fact that most doctors and nurses had experience with working out in the field and could get on with helping people regardless of the conditions. Still, this wasn't ideal and the fact that they were in Washington DC with millions of dollars worth of medical equipment that was currently dead, just grated his last nerve.

"Dr. Pitt?" he turned and looked at his favourite nurse.

With a shake of his head, he rested his hand on her shoulder. "Emma. Sorry, I was just talking to maintenance and they're trying to get the generators back up and running. Apparently there was a short and they fizzled out on us." He looked at the worried expression on her face and frowned heavily. "What is it?"

"Dr...Brad, one of the patients is missing."

"Who?" Brad asked harshly and moved closer to the nurse. "Emma, who is missing?"

"I'm sorry..." she whispered before telling him exactly which patient was AWOL and out there in a storm needing serious medical attention.

*****NCIS*****

"What the...Boss!" Tony shouted across to Gibbs' desk and pointed to the elevator. The doors had shut now, but the figure that was now barely standing there using the wall for support, was none other than Tim McGee.

"McGee! Damn it, what the hell are you doing here?" Gibbs yelled across the squad room before moving faster than anyone ever gave him credit for. "You should be in the hospital!"

"B...boss. Sorry...I just..I know what my m...mom did and wanted to tal...talk to the director."

Gibbs noticed the fine sheen of sweat that beaded across Tim's brow and knew that the kid still wasn't well. It wasn't until he got closer and pulled Tim into him, that he felt the heat rolling off of Tim's weakened body, saturating him to the core.

"Jesus, Tim. You're like a damn furnace. You're burning up..." Gibbs turned slightly and looked at the other two members of his team. "DiNozzo, with me. We need to get Tim down to Ducky. Ziva, go and tell Vance what's happened and ring Bethesda to let them know we have their patient here."

"Boss, how do you know he hasn't signed out AMA?"

"Because, Tony, Brad would've called me to let me know." He felt Tim list slightly to the side and helped support him as Tony approached. "He needs to be lying down. Call the elevator."

Tony pushed the button and took hold of Tim's other arm before slinging it round his neck. It took all of his self restraint not to mention Tim's high fever as they guided the ailing young man into the room that Gibbs often commandeered as his own and down to Ducky where the M.E. would hopefully, be able to help until the storm blew over and they could get Tim back to the hospital where he belonged.

"Hell McGoo, how'd ya manage to leave the damn hospital like this?" Tony said loudly as they practically carried Tim into the elevator. "More to the point, how'd you leave?"

"Ne..needed to...I don...Boss..."

Gibbs frowned heavily at Tim's confused ramblings and shook his head. "Not now, Tim. Alright? Let's get you down to Ducky and we'll go from there."

Tim's head lolled to the side as exhaustion and sickness washed over him, and he started to think that his plan really wasn't the best idea he'd had. "N...No!"

"Listen to him Probie. You must have had a damn good reason for doing what you did but right now, you're in no fit state to be tellin' us." Tony's voice of reason seemed to have the desired effect and Tim deflated slightly. _He had to tell them! He had to let them know that he wanted his parents charges dropped! This was important_, _but right now he didn't have the energy he'd left the hospital with. _The doors opened and they carried Tim out and through the automatic doors to Autopsy.

"Duck!" Gibbs called out as they carried their charge over to the empty table. "Get out here!"

Ducky came running out of his office at Jethro's urgent voice and frowned at the sight of Tim being settled by both Tony and Tim. "What on earth? Timothy, what in the world are you doing here?"

"Not now Duck." Gibbs warned. "I don't know how he got here but he's sick. Real sick. Palmer!" Gibbs caught sight of Jimmy as he came back in with the results of some samples that he'd taken down to Abby. "Call Vance and let him know we've brought McGee down her e in Autopsy."

"Oh, sure." Jimmy turned to walk towards Ducky's small desk and stopped dead in tracks as the Team Leaders words sunk in. "McGee?" he said as he turned around and gaped at his friend laying on the table. At first, he'd had his nose buried in the results and hadn't seen the ailing young man, but now he was shocked to see him laying there in a fevered daze.

"Yes, and once you have done that Mr. Palmer, you can go and fetch my bag from my office please."

Jimmy walked to the phone and made the call to the Director before doing what his boss had asked. It was something he was so used to doing now, seeing as members of the MRCT seemed to injure themselves on a regular basis. As he did that, he thought back to Vance's loud voice as it reverberated down the phone.

_"Director Vance!"_

_"Director, I'm sorry to bother you, but we've got someone down in autopsy that you need to know about."_

_"Who?"_

_"Agent McGee, Sir." _In hindsight, he probably should have told Director Vance that Tim was alive and well, because calling from Autopsy to tell the Director that someone was there was bound to cause some confusion.

"_Mr Palmer. Did I just hear you right? You have Agent McGee down there in Autopsy?"_

_"Yes sir."_

_"When?"_

That was the question that completely threw Jimmy and it took him a while to answer. "I don't know. I came back with some test results from Abby and he was here."

_"Mr Palmer. You and Dr. Mallard are not to touch the body. I'll put a call in to get you some cover..."_

_"Oh No! Director, sorry, Agent McGee isn't dead. He's alive and sick on our table. From what I can make out, Agent's Gibbs and DiNozzo bought him in here for Dr. Mallard to treat."_

_"I'm on my way." _The phone went dead, leaving Jimmy standing there wondering when the conversation went so very wrong.

"Mr Palmer, what is taking you so long?" Ducky's voice cut through his thoughts and he scrambled to grab the bag so that his Boss and mentor could treat their ailing friend.

"Sorry Doctor Mallard. Here you go." He flushed at the agitated look Ducky sent his way and stood waiting for instructions.

"Yes, well..." Ducky said and pulled out the thermometer and the pen light. "Alright, young man. Let us see what mischief you have gotten yourself into shall we?"

Tim's eyes had slipped closed, but they opened blearily at his name. With deft movements, Ducky shone a penlight into them making him wince slightly. "Sorry lad, but I need to check your pupils reactions. The chances of us getting you back to the hospital in this storm are slim to none and it's because of that I need to know everything I can about your current condition."

"Ok Ducky." Tim said softly and closed his eyes. Ducky sighed heavily and went about doing the basic checks on his young patient. He tsk'd loudly when the thermometer beeped and displayed a ridiculously high temperature.

"Ach. That will not do." He said and placed it to the side. "Jethro, we need to do something to bring his fever down. I know Bradley was using cooling blankets and medication, but we don't have them on hand. Autopsy is cool by default because our regular visitors will not do well in the heat, but still, I fear it won't be enough."

"What do you want us to do, Duck?" Gibbs asked quietly. From what he could tell, there were two options and one of them was definitely not an option.

"Well, we can either put him in one of the freezers for a few minutes, but I'll be honest and say that's not really something I want to do, or we can do what we did the first time. Plenty of cool water bottles. Unless..." Ducky got thoughtful for a moment and nodded his head. "Yes, it might just work. Mr. Palmer. We have one resident at the moment and they are in the corner freezer, correct?"

"Yes, Dr. Mallard. Why, what are you thinking?"

"Open all of the doors and swing them back as far as they will go. We are going to place young Timothy here in front of them to get his temperature down." Jimmy's eyes widened, but had felt the blast of cold that had come from the freezers on more than one occasion and knew that opening them all at the same time would provide the cooler environment that Tim needed.

"Of course. That might just work." Jimmy went about and did what he was told while Ducky started to take Tim's blood pressure. They were all so engrossed in either watching the two autopsy men work, or going about their tasks, that they didn't hear the Director walk in.

"You want to tell me why Agent McGee isn't in the hospital?"

Everyone turned to look at the Director, but they stayed silent knowing that they couldn't say or do anything that would make a difference right now. Gibbs was the first one to step forward to talk to his boss.

"We don't know ourselves, Leon. So how'd you expect us to answer your question." Gibbs kept his voice quiet, but carefully even.

"Thin ice, Gibbs. Very thin ice."

Gibbs huffed once and turned back to watch his friend treat Tim.

Vance moved next to him and shook his head. "Damn fool. How is he Doctor?"

Ducky glanced up and hooked his stethoscope around his neck. "Our Timothy is not a well man at all. Bradley was battling with the infection and the LACV as it was. I fear that this young man's stubbornness might have set him back."

" No..." They all turned to look at Tim and saw that he was struggling to sit up.

"Timothy! Lay down this instant young man. You are not well enough to be up." Ducky chastised and tried to push him down again. Tim carried on struggling though, so Gibbs and Tony stepped forward to help sit him up.

"Director. I...I need to...please, the com...complaint..." Tim faltered slightly and shook his head as his fuzzy thoughts jumbled. "Um...what?"

"The complaint? The one your mother made?" Vance stepped forward so he was closer to Tim and rested his hands on his Agent's shoulders. "Focus! What about the complaint?"

"This isn't the right time, Leon." Ducky interjected but was cut down by a fierce glare.

"Tim. What about the complaint?"

"Need to...retract it. Ca...Can't put it th...through. Please. I wa...want you to s..stop this."

"Your mother is the one that needs to do that, McGee. She made the complaint in the first place and it's already gone to SecNav."

Tim's face crumpled at that information and his tortured body seemed to physical fold in on itself. Tony's quick reflexes saved him from nosediving off of the table. "Whoa there. Come on, Tim. Lie down for a little bit and rest." He guided Tim down and placed his hand on the sweaty, fevered brow. "You can deal with this later. Just relax, okay?"

"Stop...t..talk to my mom. To...Tony. Tell her."

"I will, Probie. I'll talk to her." Tony promised and watched as Tim's eyes slid shut. He looked up at Gibbs and Vance and shook his head. "She won't listen to me though. How do I convince her that it's what Tim wants?"

The worry in Tony's voice was thick, though they all knew that they senior agent could do it if he put his mind to it. Right now, he was worried sick about Tim and felt the guild shooting through him.

"We can only do what we can do." Vance replied. "But, I can get the security tapes and see if this conversation has been recorded. I can't guarantee anything though, and I'm going to need a written retraction. It won't stop the action against you all though. You do understand that don't you.?"

"I know." Gibbs answered. "We made a mistake, and we gotta pay. Right now, this isn't what its about"

They all went silent for a while and sat there watching Tim as he slept. The first twitch didn't seem to phase them at all, knowing that it was probably just muscle spasms, but after a couple of times of his hand spasmodically bouncing around, Tim went into a full blown seizure that left everyone reeling with shock.

***NCIS***

Brad rubbed his eyes tiredly and glanced up at the lights. They still didn't have electricity and so far three patients had flatlined. They'd been able to bring two back and there were currently nurses rotating the duty of pumping the intubation bag that kept them alive. The third hadn't been so lucky. He'd been a marine who had just come home from a tour of duty so he could have treatment for a busted up leg caused by a landmine. The damage itself was healing nicely until infection kicked in, and they were unable to control it. The kid...and that's all he was; a damn kid...had been put on life support the night before and when it failed, they struggled to keep him breathing. They pumped the ambu bag giving him oxygen, but the chest compressions just didn't work and his heart just wouldn't start again. He'd given adrenaline, but without the crash equipment, it was no good.

"Brad." Emma came up behind him and placed a bottle of water down. "It's still cool."

"Thanks Emma." Brad sighed. "I need to ring Gibbs and let him know about Agent McGee. Any news from security yet?"

"They've done a floor by floor search and haven't found him. He might still be in the hospital." She answered softly and leaned against the desk that Brad was sitting at.

"Or he could have left and is out there in a storm. Jesus, how did this happen?"

"We were a bit pre-occupied with the fact that there was no power. We're not in the dark ages now and unfortunately we rely on our equipment to keep things ticking. It's how we save people now, Brad. We need that machinery because without it..."

"People die. We've already lost one and by my book, that's one too many. Especially given the fact that we could have saved him." Brad replied sadly.

"I know. I contacted Gunny Jones' unit leader and he's going to inform the family."

"Thank you. I can't believe the damn equipment failed as well. They're supposed to have battery packs that keep them going."

"They do, but they ran down quickly. The power has been out for too long now and they were well used."

"I know." He stood up and kissed her cheek. "I'm going to go and make that call. How are the nurses doing?"

"They are doing well. The rotation works with the bags, so no one's getting too tired. We have..." At that moment the lights flickered and came on. There was a unified whooping from the staff as they all bustled around to go and check the lifesaving equipment. "Oh thank God."

"Amen to that. I'm going to make a call. I'll be back soon."

Emma nodded and rested her hand briefly on his shoulder before turning and walking away to help her fellow nurses. Brad sighed heavily and held up his cell phone to the doctor going through a set of notes at the desk. "You got this Alex?"

"I got it. You know, I have no idea what we'd do without the nurses. They've got it in hand. The doctors working this floor have split it into sections and are doing their rounds to make sure the patients are okay. So far, so good. Go on, make your call, do what you have to do and for heavens sake, Brad, Get some rest. You look like hell."

"Thanks. I think." Brad smiled wanly and gave a sloppy salute before walking towards the small break room. Once there, he set about making himself an instant coffee knowing that the coffee machine would take forever to warm up and brew. With a heavy sigh, he poured in the hot water, and carried the mug to the comfortable sofa that had seen more than a few medical staff crash and burn over the years. He pulled out his cell phone and dialled a number that had become all to familiar over the years since the interesting case of the plague.

_"Yeah Gibbs."_

"Gibbs. Brad Pitt. I need to speak to you about Tim. It appears that he's managed to give us the slip and I hate to ask this of you, but I need your help." Brad waited with baited breath for the shit-storm that was going to hit. He heard a soft sigh on the other end and frowned with confusion.

"_Call off the dogs, Brad. He's here."_

Brad nearly choked on his coffee at that news and coughed harshly before answering. "He's with you? How the hell did he get there? I was ringing to ask if you could spare anyone in searching the area."

_"No idea. He stepped out of the elevator looking like hell so we took him down to Ducky. I'm guessing he caught a cab, but until he's a better, I don't wanna question him about it." _

"You have the most stubborn, obstinate agents I have ever met." Brad leaned his head back and tried to figure out how Tim had managed to find a cab in one of the worst storms this year.

_"Tell me about it. It's like running a damn kindergarten sometimes. Look, we don't want to send anyone out in this storm, so Ducky's keeping an eye on him. As soon as it dies down, we'll get him back to you."_

"Make sure you do. His last round of bloods were promising, but he still needs IV antibiotics and the anti-seizure meds. He's going in the right direction, but there's a way to go."

"_I know. His fever spiked when he got here so we're trying to bring it down...what?..." _Brad heard Abby's panicked voice in the background and shot bolt upright from where he was slouched down. He listened with a heavy heart and shook his head. _"Get back down there!...Brad, i've gotta go. Tim's seizing again."_

"Tell Ducky to ring me when he's got a moment. I need to know what medications he keeps there. If it comes to it, i'll grab the stuff we need and will come to you."

_"Not in this storm you won't."_ Gibbs ordered, making Brad smile slightly. He'd always like the team leader and knew that he was going to be on the receiving end of an infamous head slap for what he was planning to do.

"Yeah? You think you're gonna stop me? You're man needs help and I don't want you bringing him back just yet. The storm's raging and it's too dangerous because at least while he's there, you can help him. I'll be there in an hour. Tell Ducky not to bother ringing unless it's an emergency now."

_"Damn it...just be careful."_ The phone went dead, leaving Brad feeling momentarily stunned. He shook it off quickly, gulped his coffee and ran out of the break room to grab what he needed to treat Tim. He only hoped that it would be enough and that Tim's actions hadn't set him back further, or permanently damaged the young man.


	10. Chapter 10

"Damn it!" Brad swerved away from a branch that whipped down in front of his car. The storm was still raging and driving conditions were difficult at best. The high winds were only one factor that caused problems, but the torrential rain that deluged over the car made visibility poor and he was struggling to see more than a foot in front of him. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he bi-passed the obstacle and pulled over to calm his breathing down. His heart was beating like a jackhammer in his chest and he knew that despite the urgency, it wouldn't do anyone any good if he killed himself on the way. He started when his cellphone rang and frowned knowing that the signal would dip out because of the storm. He glanced at the display and decided to take a chance by answering it.

"Dr. Pitt."

"_Bra…e….ou."_

"Gibbs? I can't hear you. You're breaking up because of the storm."

"…_Okay?"_

Brad frowned and hoped that Gibbs was asking whether or not he was okay. "I'm fine and will be there soon…hello…Gibbs…?" He slammed his phone closed and cursed when it had gone dead. With a reserved sigh, he pulled out and carried on driving through the storm.

***NCIS***

Gibbs slammed down the phone in autopsy and cursed loudly.

"Jethro?" Ducky's soft, accented voice floated over from where they were desperately trying to cool Tim down. "Is everything alright?"

"I couldn't hear him. The storm's affecting the damn signal." He walked over to where they were positioned in front of the fridges and tried to surpress a shiver as the cold blasted out at him. "How's he doing?"

"Better. The fever is dropping which is good, but he really needs to be in the hospital. This is not the right place for him."

"I know, Duck but until this storm passes we don't have much of a choice."

"B..Boss?" Both men startled at Tim's voice. "D…don't f…fe…feel good. C..cold."

Jimmy placed the thermometer in Tim's ear and nodded. "I know Tim. We need to get your temperature down though." At the beep, Jimmy sighed with relief and turned to his boss. "Dr Mallard, I think we can move him away from here now."

"What is the reading, Mr Palmer?" Ducky asked gently and laid his hand on Tim's forehead when the younger man groaned. "Shhhh Timothy. I'm sorry, but we are trying to help."

"Um…101." Jimmy replied.

"Good good." Ducky turned back to Tim and smiled. "Timothy, we're going to move you away from the fridges for now. If your temperature rises again though, we will have to put you back there."

"N..No. Va…Vance…need to…"

"You've already told him, McGee." Gibbs added and leaned in so that Tim could see him. "You wanna drop the charges, we get that so calm down and just rest. There's nothing we can do now until this storm passes by."

The autopsy door swished open a harassed, soggy looking doctor walked in. He sighed when he saw Tim being wheeled away from the fridges and shook his head. "Damn fool. Storm's passing over now. Still pretty mean, but at least it's clearing. We should be able to get him back in the hospital where he belongs pretty soon."

"Ahh, Bradley. It's good to see you." Ducky greeted. "Now, talking of damn fools, hmm?"

Brad huffed out a laugh and shirked off his sodden coat. "I agree, but I got here with minimal damage. I've bought enough IV's and medication to see him through the night since we were dealing with Mother Nature and might have been stuck here for a while."

Ducky walked over and took the proffered bag before moving over to their patient and setting up the vital equipment that would hopefully see Tim through the night.

***NCIS***

"JACOB!" Angela slammed the phone down and rushed into Tim's bedroom. They felt funny being there, but in one of his more lucid moments, Tim had told them to check out of the hotel and use his apartment. Of course, that had been one of the few times he seemed to know what was going on and it had broken Angela's heart. "DAMN IT! JAKE WHERE ARE YOU?"

Jacob walked out of the bathroom toweling off his hair and frowned at his wife. "Angela, what the hell's happened? Why are you…Oh no. Please, not Tim." He sat down heavily in Tim's computer chair feeling totally shell shocked.

"What? Oh God, Jake no. Tim's…he's alive but…" She choked out a sob and walked over to her husband.

"Angela, please! What's wrong?"

"He's gone missing. I just rang the hospital and they said he went missing. Apparently he went to NCIS." Jake jumped up and ran to the bedroom. "What are you doing?"

"Going to NCIS!" Jake called back. Angela sighed and followed him in.

"And how are you going to do that? The storm's still raging and we have no idea what the roads are like. Jake, this is not a sensible thing to do!"

Jake growled as he threw on his clothes. "And our sick son making his way to work is? Come on. You know as well as I do he's not well and then he goes and does something as foolhardy as this. Why? What possible reason could he have for doing this?"

Angela sighed heavily and sat down on the bed. "He wanted us to drop the charges remember? I think…I think we gave him no choice but to go there because he didn't want us to go through with the complaint against his team."

"Regardless, he shouldn't have left the hospital, Angela. You know that. He could have told us to drop them."

"He did! Don't you see? Jesus, Jake are you really…He told us to drop the charges! That's all he's been worried about! Remember?"

Jake sighed heavily and nodded. "Yeah. I remember. I'm just so angry at NCIS for putting our boy in this position."

"I know sweetheart." Angela pulled her husband in for a hug and sighed. "We need to fix this. We're making it worse."

Jake pulled away and moved to the phone so he could make a phone call that could potentially amend the situation as it was.

***NCIS***

Pam walked into the Director's office and placed a mug of steaming coffee down in front of him.

He looked up and gave her a wan smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Did you manage to get through to your wife?"

"I did. Everyone's okay and the kids have piled in bed with her. She said they're scared, but they'll be okay."

Pam nodded and smiled. "They're resilient. They'll soon be driving her crazy because they're bored."

"Yes they will. Pam…" Vance's demeanor changed and he couldn't help but frown. "I need you to do something for me. Have you sent the investigation to SecNav yet?"

"No, Sir. I wasn't able to because of the storm."

"Good. I need all the information back. It appears that Agent McGee is hell-bent on trying to override the complaint and whilst I can't retract it simply because he wants me to, I can hold off on it until he is better and I'm more certain that he's cognitive."

Pam nodded and started to make her way out of the office.

"Oh, and Pam?"

"Yes sir." She asked and turned to face him.

"Thank you."

"What for?" Pam asked with a frown. She had no idea what he was thanking her for.

"For holding off on those files. I asked you to send them yesterday and ordinarily they would have gone. Why didn't you send them?"

With a sly grin, Pam winked at her boss. "Women's intuition." With that she walked out, leaving Vance to sit there and muse about what course of action he should take.

He frowned when his desk phone rang and picked it up. "Director Vance."

"_Director. I understand you have my boy there with you." _Vance winced at the sound of Jacob McGee's voice and sighed heavily.

"Yes sir. We do. It seems that your son had a point to make and was determined to make it tonight."

"_He always was a stubborn boy. How is he?"_

"Still sick, Sir. He's with Dr. Mallard and Dr. Pitt as we speak…"

_"The lung specialist taking care of my boy?"_

"Yes sir, he came over from Bethesda."

"_Huh. Okay, we're going to come in and talk about dropping the complaint. We can't logically file it when my son is so obviously against it that he's willing to do something so foolish as what he's done tonight."_

"I understand. You do realize that there will still be consequences though. As it stands, the complaint has been taken seriously and my superiors are calling for disciplinary action to be taken. Now, with the complaint dropped, what happens next will be in my hands but I will still have to answer to them."

He heard Jake sigh on the other end of the phone. _"What kind of action?"_

"That, I don't know yet. I'm sorry."

"_But will it affect Tim's position on the team?"_

"No sir, it won't. I am leaving that in Tim's hands." He sat back and looked over at the large plasma. He had asked Abby to set it up so he could keep his eye on what was going on in autopsy and was currently watching the team settling down around their friend for the night. "If it's any consolation sir, Tim has everyone on his team with him right now and seems to be resting comfortably."

"_Thank heavens for small mercies, huh? Okay. Angela and I will be there as soon as the storm passes. Please call if anything changes."_

Vance promised that he would do just that and hung up the phone. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and made his way out of the office. "Pam, anything urgent, put through to autopsy please. I'll be down there."

Pam nodded and watched her boss leave. With a heavy heart, she picked up the file he asked for and locked it back in her filing cabinet, ready for when he needed it again.

***NCIS***

Gibbs sat in a chair next to the makeshift bed that had been set up for Tim. He took in the tremor in the young man's hand and the slight, involuntary tic that seemed to plague him. Right now, all he could think of was the fact that his boy was as sick as he was, and could suffer with permanent disabilities because of a stupid decision that he, the Trusted Team Leader, had made. He jumped when he felt a hand fall on his shoulder and looked round to see Ziva frowning at him.

"How is he?"

Gibbs huffed slightly and shook his head. "Sick."

"But he will get better." It wasn't a question, but a statement and Gibbs found himself hoping she was right.

"How do you know?"

"Because he is a member of your team and he would not dare to defy the order not to be." He turned and looked at Ziva and found himself unable to answer. "Gibbs, he will be okay."

"I hope so. I really really hope so."

"Don't we all." Vance stated as he walked over and looked down at Tim. "Why's he twitching like that?"

"Apparently it is normal for this disease." Ziva replied and patted her boss once on the shoulder. "Gibbs, I am going to go and make some tea. Would you like a coffee."

"That'll be good." He waited until she had moved away before giving Vance his full attention. "So, what brings you down here, Leon?"

"I can't just come and see how my agent is doing?" He paused and shook his head. "Right. Should have known you'd see right through me."

"Leon. I'm tired. McGee's sick and we're stuck here for the night. Just get to the damn point." Gibbs huffed out.

Vance just nodded. "Okay. The McGee's are withdrawing the complaint. I need to speak to Tim if I can."

"He's not exactly up for conversation right now."

Vance narrowed his eyes and carried on. "I'm aware of that, but when he is, I need to know what he plans on doing. Gibbs, you know that despite the complaint being dropped, it doesn't mean you all walk away from this scott-free. Ziva and Abby are the only people who had no hand in this, so I need to figure out what the best course of action is."

At that point, Ziva walked in carrying two mugs of coffee and passed them to her two superiors. Both men nodded their thanks and stayed silent while she was there.

"Director, I apologize if I am speaking out of term here, but it would not be prudent to suspend everyone. The people involved are key players in the team."

Gibbs and Vance laughed softly at her error. "Turn, Ziva. It's out of turn." Gibbs responded.

"I don't know what the punishments will be officer Da'vid. All I know is that they will be milder than what they would have been if the McGee's hadn't come forward and dropped their grievance. From what I can tell, they're only doing that because of their son's stubborn insistence that they do. Not sure I'd be so forgiving if I were in his shoes."

Ziva walked back to Ducky's office where everyone else was trying to relax. They had decided that the best plan of action was to work in shifts, with Brad and Ducky taking turns to sleep during the night. Tim groaned and started to restlessly move around the bed.

"Hey. Tim…Shh. It's alright. Take it easy." Gibbs soothed.

"His parents want to come to NCIS." Vance said softly and watched with a surreal kind of awe as Gibbs dipped a towel in some water and placed it on the young man's brow. "I think they are waiting for the storm to pass first."

"Makes sense. They might as well try and get some sleep and meet us back in the hospital in the morning." He wet the towel again and draped it over Tim's forehead. "We've already had someone damn near killing themselves to get here."

"I heard that Gibbs." Brad said breezily and walked over to check on Tim. "One little tree branch and they think I've got a death wish."

"You came here didn't ya?" Gibbs said indignantly and stood up to stretch his legs. "You got him?"

Brad nodded and set about taking Tim's vitals. "Take a break. You know, I'm not used to doing this the old fashioned way. Guess I'm too used to the modern miracles of medicine."

"Just like my people are too used to modern investigative techniques. I've been dreading a blackout."

Gibbs nodded his head and turned to walk away. "Leon. Come on, we need to talk."


	11. Chapter 11

Gibbs walked into Vance's office and sat down heavily in one of the chairs around the meeting table. He hated seeming so defeated, but the past week had been a bitch and it was starting to take its toll. He looked up from where he'd been cradling his head in his hands and nodded gratefully when a glass of bourbon was placed in front of him.

"Two fingers. Figured you could do with it."

"Thanks. How did we get here, Leon?"

Vance frowned and sat down in the chair next to Gibbs. He sipped at his own drink before placing the crystal glass down on the large table. "I don't follow."

"I nearly lost one of my boys because I screwed up."

Vance nodded. "Yes. You did but right now that's not the issue is it. We got here because you and your team had to learn the lesson the hard way. You can't have it both ways Jethro. You can't claim to love your team and treat them like crap when it suits you."

The truth sliced through Gibbs heart like a knife. He did love his team and would protect them with his life if they needed it. He just didn't realize that stepping into that hot-tub meant Tim needed protecting even through the kid told him that it was a bio-hazard. "I know Leon. Trust me I know. I do love those kids as if they were my own and that worries me, because I keep wondering whether I'd do the same thing if Kelly had been alive. Would I have sent her in?"

Vance settled back heavily in his chair. It was extremely rare to see Gibbs like this and at the moment, the Director was seeing how broken with guilt and feat the man had become. "I can't answer that but right now I can tell you that you have to quit acting this way because you'll be no good to McGee if you're gonna let it consume you."

"What? Leon, come on. I nearly killed him!" Gibbs shouted fervently. "And now the damn kid is tryin' to save our asses. How is that right?" He sighed heavily and rubbed at his forehead. "I should just resign now."

"Never said it was right and you're not going to resign either. This isn't like you Gibbs. There's a reason he is doing what he is, so don't let him down again by doing something stupid." The director reached over and picked up his drink. "Besides, Tim's at fault in this too you know."

"What!" Gibbs glared at Vance. "How the hell is any of this his fault?"

"Gibbs come on. He should have fought harder. He told you the facts and from what I can make out he went ahead and listened to you all. Why? Why'd he do that? He should have refused."

"You ever refused me, Leon?" Gibbs growled before realizing exactly what he was saying. "That's your point isn't it? They never refuse me. They're scared of me."

Vance nodded. "You got it. It's not because they're scared though Gibbs. It's because they don't wanna disappoint you."

Gibbs picked up his glass and drained his drink in one got. The fact that his team were so frightened of letting him down that they put themselves in danger and refused to argue back was wrong. That was going to change though and he made a silent vow that things were going to be different.

"They don't."

"Gibbs. Why are you talking to me about this? I mean, I appreciate your honesty but this isn't like you at all."

Gibbs offered his glass out and nodded his thanks curtly when Vance filled it up. "Damned if I know. Duck is busy with Tim and I'm bone tired. I wanted to talk to you because I know that the McGee's have retracted their complaint, but I don't want to put someone in the position that they're knocking on heaven's door because of me."

"What are you saying?" Vance sat back in his chair and rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Okay, look. I'm gonna talk to you as a friend. Forget the fact that I'm your boss here and nothing you say or have said will go on your file."

"Appreciate it. Leon, I'm thinking of taking early retirement. Go down to Mexico with Mike and...I don't know. Hell, I'm not even sure why I'm thinking like this myself."

"I will admit. I feel as though I've woken up this morning in the twilight Zone. You're going to listen to me. You are not going to resign because of this and I'm not going to approve early retirement for you. I've known men like you and its one thing that that would kill you, Gibbs. You couldn't let go and I know for a damn fact that you couldn't walk away from the job or those kids."

Gibbs stood up and nodded his head. "Okay."

"Okay? Wait a minute, what are you going to do?"

With a wry chuckle, Gibbs downed the rest of his drink. "I'm gonna stop being a sap for a start. Leon, then I'm going to go back to Tim and I'm gonna make sure he gets through this. After that? We're gonna get back to work."

Vance grinned at his lead agent. Gone was the slightly broken man that walked into the room and he could see that Gibbs was back and was finally thinking logically about the situation at hand...well, as logically as Gibbs thought in the first place.

***NCIS***

Tim woke up slowly and tried to push away the molasses that seemed a permanent residence in his mind recently. He turned his head and blearily eyed the IV that had been set up and wondered why Ducky would need them in autopsy. Wait! Autopsy? Why was he in autopsy? Was he dead?

"Woah there Tim. Calm down." Brad moved in closer and gently cupped Tim's warm cheeks. "You remember where you are?"

"Why'm I...Autopsy. Dea..Dead?" Brad frowned at the question before chuckling slightly.

"No. You're not dead. You're an idiot; but you're not dead. You don't remember leaving the hospital to come here?" Brad reached over and picked up the thermometer that sat on the small table next to his charge. "I'm just going to stick this in your ear Tim. I need to make sure that temperature is still down."

Tim nodded. "I remember. I need to speak to the Director."

"Don't worry about it. It's all been taken care of." The thermometer beeped and Brad breathed a sigh of relief at the reading. "Much much better. Not quite normal, but it's not in the danger zone anymore."

"Whe...where's Gibbs?"

"He's with your Director, Tim. Do you want some water?" Brad looked up to see Ducky walking out of his office with a bottle of ice cold water in his hand. "Thanks Ducky."

"You are very welcome. It is good to see you awake, Timothy. You really do need to stop scaring us like that. I'm too old for it now."

Tim offered a small smile and struggled to sit up but was stopped by Ducky and Brads hands on his shoulders. "Stay there a minute...TONY." They waited a moment before Tony breezed out of the office. Once he saw his Probie awake and more aware than he had seen him in a while, he grinned.

"McGee! You're awake! How're you feeling?"

"Tired." Tim responded quietly. "I wanna sit up."

"Ok, Tony I need your help to sit him up. I've got him on an IV, but I could do with getting him drinking something." Tony nodded and moved to the other side of the table that had been set up as makeshift hospital bed. "Okay, you got him?...good. After three, we're going to lift him up. One, Two..."

They gently lifted Tim on the count of three and Tony moved in behind him so that he could rest against him. Ducky smiled softly at the gesture and opened the water bottle. "Small sips, Timothy. We don't want you to make yourself sick."

Tim nodded and started to sip at the water. After a couple of sips he rested his head back against Tony's shoulder and felt his eyes closing with the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm him. "Thanks."

"Hey, Probie. You wanna lie down again?" Tim shook his head at Tony's question. "Okay. You let me know when you do though."

"Kay." Tim finally fell asleep and Ducky moved to help Tony slip out from behind Tim. The senior agent shook his head right before resting it on top of his friends.

"Nah leave him there. He's alright for now and it'll do him good sitting up for a while." Tony raised his head and looked at Brad. "He really okay?"

"He's getting there. It's going to be a bumpy road but I think we've got the infection under control now. The LACV is a different matter though. If his fever doesn't rise again and there are no more seizures, then we know we've turned the corner." Brad reached over and patted Tony's arm. "Give it time, Tony. He'll get there and if I've got anything to do with it, he'll come through this without any lingering effects."

"He'd better." Gibbs stormed into autopsy carrying coffee and perched on the edge of Tim's makeshift bed. With a frown, he reached over and touched the back of his hand on Tim's forehead. "Doesn't seem as hot."

"He's not, Jethro. His temperature has dropped slightly which is a good sign." Gibbs nodded and sighed heavily. "Jethro, he will be okay. His foolhardy stunt at coming here didn't help, but his fever is under control and Brad seems happy enough with the infection."

"Good. That's good. Tony, how about you lay him down. I wanna sit with him for a while."

Tony couldn't help the regretful look on his face but nodded ruefully. He leaned his head down and whispered gently in Tim's ear. "Hey, McGee. The boss is gonna sit with you for a while but I won't be far away if you need me." with a nod, he waited for help with lifting Tim up. Gibbs leaned forward to take Tim and rubbed Tim's back soothingly to calm his younger agent when he stirred.

"Shhh. It's alright Tim. Go back to sleep." He waited till Tony was out of the way and started to lower Tim down so that he was lying down once again. Tim's eyes opened and looked at the Boss with a frown. "Seriously, McGee. I need you to rest and get your strength back. We've got a lot to talk about."

Tim nodded and closed his eyes once more. With a sigh, Gibbs hooked the stool with his foot and rolled it close so he could sit down close to his agent. He reached over and grasped Tim's hand, needing the contact so that he could sit there and tell him exactly what he needed to say.

"Tim I'm sorry. I know I always say it's a sign of weakness, but there are times when an apology is needed. Times like this. I screwed up and yeah, yeah. An old goat like me admitting fault isn't easy, but hell, I'm telling it like it is. We shoulda listened to you but we didn't. I don't know why we...I didn't listen, but we were so damn wrong that it hurts. I'm sorry it took this to make us realise we were treating you like crap."

Tim started to stir at the low rumble of Gibbs' voice but the boss soon managed to soothe him to sleep again. "You know, I remember when you first joined the team. You were the definitely the green Probie, but you soon fitted in and grew to be an exemplary agent. I'm havin' a hard time coming to terms with nearly losing you right now. It's my fault and that makes me no better than the people we go after." He laid his forehead down on the hand that was wrapped around Tim's and an unusual show of emotions, he felt tears slip free of his eyes.

"B...boss?"

Gibbs let go of Tim's hand and stood up so that he could look Tim directly in the eyes. "Hey there, Kid. How're you doin'?"

"Kay. You okay?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Not until you are."

Tim gave a half hearted smile and reached up weakly to touch Gibbs' cheek. "You will be." With that, he fell asleep once again and Gibbs felt his hand slip of his face. He grabbed it as it slipped down and held it against his heart.

"Yeah. I know, Tim. We all will."


	12. Chapter 12

The night was long and drawn out and thankfully passed without incident. Tim seemed to slip between being awake and lucid to sleeping fitfully as the fever returned in fits and starts. Not enough to cause worry though, and it was controlled easily enough by the cool compresses and medication that Brad had bought with him.

"How is he?" Gibbs yawned and turned towards Ziva. He looked her over and shook his head.

"You get any sleep last night?"

"Not very much." She admitted ruefully and moved to brush Tim's hair away from his forehead. "He looks better, but still very very sick."

"Yeah. No more seizures but that fever of his is stubborn." Gibbs stretched and winced when his spine cracked loudly. "Damn stools."

"Well you know they are not meant to be sat in all night, Jethro." Ducky said quietly as he walked out of his office. "Good morning, Ziva. Oh my, young lady you look as though you need a good night's sleep still. Pretty eyes like that shouldn't be marred by the bruises of tiredness."

"Thank you, Ducky. I am sure that is a...compliment?"

Ducky chucked and shook his head. "In a roundabout kind of way. Forgive a foolish old man for being so blunt. How about I make it up to you by making some tea?"

"Thank you. That would be lovely, though there is nothing to atone for. If I look as tired as I feel, then I imagine I look like..."

"Bea…utiful as...as ever." Tim stammered from where he lay. "Ducky. Ca...can I have so...some tea?"

The grin that graced Ducky's face seemed to light up autopsy and with a gleaming twinkle in his eye, he walked over to Tim and cupped his cheek. "Ahh my boy that is the best thing you have asked. Of course you can...that is, if you feel you can keep it down."

"M'okay. Earl Grey?"

"Of course." Ducky replied and patted his cheek lovingly. "Is there any other?" With a wink, the M.E. set about making the tea, leaving Gibbs sitting there with two of his teammembers.

"Tim. You wanna sit up?" Tim nodded at his boss' question and felt the gurney being raised. Once he was sitting up enough to drink the tea that was being made, Gibbs sat back down. "Good job you're one of them."

"Yeah." Tim's eyes drooped again but he caught himself and dragged them open again. "Where...?"

"You're in autopsy. Everyone is here but is still sleeping." Ziva explained. "You were foolish my friend. Very, very foolish."

Tim dopily let his head turn towards her. "I kn...know."

"Oh My God! Is Probie awake? How're you feeling, McGoo?" Tony walked lazily over to the gurney and yawned. "You know, this is not the best place to sleep. It's creepy."

"Didn't have to stay, DiNozzo." Gibbs gruffed and stood up. "I'm gonna go and get coffee. Ducky's making tea if you want some. I wanna check out that storm as well. Brad and Abby awake?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm awake and so is Abby. Who knew she was so cuddly at night." Brad walked out of the office with a huge grin looking fresh and wide awake. Gibbs figured it was down to the fact that he was a doctor, but hell, they worked late cases and never looked that good in the morning. "Good to see you sitting up, Tim. How're you feeling?"

"M'kay. Ducky's getting me some tea." Tim's voice seemed to clear slightly the longer he was awake, though he still looked like hell. Brad went about checking all his vitals and stood back looking pleased with what he found.

"Tea sounds good. Coffee would be better though."

"I'm going now. I'll grab ya one." Gibbs offered. "How's he doing?"

Brad sat down on the stool that the team leader had vacated and grinned. "Well, so far so good. Vitals look good, temperature down to a more manageable level and no more seizures. Not quite out of the woods yet, but it's a step in the right direction."

"Yay! Timmy's getting better!" Abby bounced out of Ducky's office tying her pigtails. "Ooh ooh, Gibbs! Can you get me a..."

"Cafpow." He finished for her and nodded. "So. Right now, McGee's on the up?" Gibbs asked, needing the clarification. Abby nodded her head vigorously making her pigtails bounce. The team leader watched as she bounded over to Tim and gave him a gentle hug. Brad chuckled and nodded.

"Absolutely. That's what I said. It's up to him now so barring no complications and no more seizures, then he should be able to go home in a couple of weeks or sooner. I think last night was the first time in days that Tim hasn't seized more than once. He was clocking up three a day at one point."

"Well that does sound encouraging." Ducky walked back in carrying a tray laden with an ivy patterned tea pot and several bone china tea cups. "LACV symptoms usually abate within a week, though the lingering effects can take up to several months to finally go. What about the infection from the bites?"

"I think we've got it under control now. I'm going to keep him on the antibiotics for another week or so, but so far, so good." Brad took the offered tea from Ducky and nodded his thanks. "Tim, you okay to hold the cup or do you need help?"

Tim held out his hand and frowned at the vibrating appendage in front of him. "I mi...might need some help."

"I'll do it." Tony took Tim's tea and gently blew it to cool it down. "Small sips, Probie. If it's too hot, let me know." Tim sipped and couldn't help but smile at the fresh taste of bergamot infused black tea. He'd long ago found a liking for the brew and seemed to share Ducky's liking of a drop of milk in his brew. They all say in companionable silence as they enjoyed a moment of calm before Brad's phone rang in the quiet room; the ring resonating loudly through autopsy. The doctor fumbled in his pocket before pulling out his cell and answering.

"Dr. Pitt...That's great! When can we...uh huh...yeah, we'll get him ready...alright, thanks Gibbs."

"Well?" Ducky asked expectantly and placed his cup down on his desk.

"The storms over. It's nicely sunny outside so we can start the transfer back to the hospital."

***NCIS***

Two hours later, found Tim settled back at the hospital and the team all sitting round his bed watching him sleep. The transfer had gone as smoothly as they had hoped, but by the time they had him back at the hospital courtesy of the Coroners van, Tim's temperature had spiked leaving him looking and feeling sick and feverish once again. The hospital staff had been wonderful and soon had Tim stabilized and sleeping fitfully once again in the room that he had escaped from the day before.

Gibbs glanced around at his team and hate seeing the dejected defeat he saw. He understood it totally though because this morning had been spent with Tim sipping tea and talking as well as he could; it's just the way of the disease he currently had and it soon had his junior agent in its grip once again.

"Oh...I thought Tim would be alone." Angela and Jacob McGee walked in the room and balked at the sight of the team sitting around the bed. Angela frowned heavily and huffed. "I see you bought him back."

"Angela!" Jake warned and shook his head. "Sorry. She's tired and emotional right now...and don't you dare Angela McGee. You know you are."

Gibbs stood up and moved out of the chair so that Angela could be closer to her son. "I'm sorry Ma'am. I don't apologize often, but I truly am sorry."

Angela nodded and sat down in the chair. With a heavy sigh, she reached over and grasped her son's hand gently. "He's not getting better is he? All this because you were too damn stubborn and bull headed to listen to his words of warning. Agent Gibbs, all you had to do was put the call in for the bio-hazard team and none of this would have happened."

Gibbs felt her words hit him as though he had been punched and nodded his head. "I know. Can we...Angela can we go and talk somewhere else. Tim doesn't need to hear this right now."

"That's a good idea. Go on, honey. I'd like to sit with Tim for a while anyway and you know you need to get it off your chest."

Angela nodded and stood up. She smiled sadly at her son and bent over to kiss his forehead. "I'll be back soon honey. Sarah says hi and that she loves you."

"Ange, come on." Jacob looked at her impatiently and rolled his eyes at the tut he received. She moved to the door and walked out with Gibbs on her tail. "She's a stubborn one, but just for the record, I agree with her."

"So do we." Tony answered sadly. "Don't worry, we've learned our lesson."

***NCIS***

Gibbs and Angela found a quite table in this hospital canteen and sat down with their coffee's. Gibbs looked at the beat down woman in front of him and knew that his actions hadn't just hurt Tim, they'd hurt his family as well.

"I don't know what to say because I can't change what I did."

"No you can't. You know, I have no idea why it took something like this to make you realize. Tim thinks the world of you all, but he's not ignorant to your faults. When we have spoken, he says there are quirks that you all have that really piss him off, but that's what family is all about."

"Family?" Gibbs asked gently, feeling the weight of guilt pushing down on his shoulders. Tim was the one person on the team, that didn't need the extended family that they provided and even though he took them all on as his own, he knew Tim had the benefit of people he could turn to when he needed it.

"Yes, Agent Gibbs. Family. Honestly, we're so far away and whilst he's here in DC he looks up to you and his team and believe it or not, holds you all in high esteem. I have to say, I don't see why when you can all treat him so abysmally."

"He's a part of my team and I've always go his six." Gibbs defended before deflating. "Didn't know the kid felt that way though."

Angela snorted and shook her head. "What happened? Lapse of caring on that day? Agent Gibbs, I am his mother and to see my son so sick because his boss didn't take care of his basic needs and safety. From my point of view, that is unacceptable but..." She sighed and wiped at her eyes with a tissue. "But, the fact that he wanted the charges dropped and took such drastic actions speaks volumes. Rest assured, I have retracted the charges, but if Tim is ever angry or hurt because of something that could have been avoidedlike this again, then rest assured I will take you to the cleaners."

"Wouldn't expect anything else. I dunno what to say that will make this any better, but I'll tell ya now. I won't happen again."

Angela scrutinized the clear blue eyes that gazed back at her and felt her resolve melting away. There was something about this man that Tim admired and though highly of and for whatever reason, she believed him when he told her that he would keep her son safe. "I now it won't. Tim has always been the butt of all jokes because he's smart, Agent Gibbs. Very smart."

He is." Gibbs admitted and huffed a small laugh. "I gotta wonder how my team actually get anything done without him because that kid can do more on a computer than the rest of us put together."

"Yes he can, and while that is his strength, he's always been ridiculed and mocked because of what he can do. At school, he was bullied and this whole situation bought back memories of him coming home and locking himself away from the world. You all bullied him into getting into that hot tub and look what happened. The only difference now, is the fact that he's a confident young man that takes it in his stride. As loathe as I am to admit, that is your doing."

Gibbs tried to hide the shock that he felt and cocked his head with curiosity. "Mine?"

"Yes. Do you remember when he joined your team? The stammer and nervousness was something that he always suffered with. It was a result of him being taunted all his life for the things that made him who he was. You can't be beaten down and expect to be confident. It just doesn't work that way." Tears formed in the older McGee woman's eyes, making the crystal green blur slightly. "I never thought I'd ever see a day when Tim felt strong enough to stop stuttering and lose the weight that he hid behind. He's always been gorgeous to me, but look at him now. He's a heartbreaker and when he gets out of here, I hope he finds the life that he truly deserves.God knows he's been hurt and heartbroken enough and although I know he'd hate it if he knew I said this to you, the fact that his team mates merely ridicule him or use his devotion to them, and you know which ones I'm referring to, Agent Gibbs, only hurts him that much more. I can't imagine what it does to him, knowing his Team Leader is aware of all of this and does nothing to snap his team in line so they all treat each other with more respect."

The team leader let her words sink in and couldn't help but let his mind flit over the failed relationships his junior agent had had in the past. He had no idea why the sweet boy hadn't found happiness, but next time, Gibbs mentally vowed to keep an eye on the situation so Tim didn't get hurt. "He will. He's a good kid, but can be naive sometimes."

"And that's where you are supposed to come in!" Angela spat out harshly making the usually stoic man blanch at her words. "You are supposed to keep my boy safe when he is at work as much as I know you look out for the others outside as well. All I ask is that you stop him from being hurt and help him achieve what he is destined to. Please Agent Gibbs. It's not too much to ask is it?"

"No ma'am. It's not and I promise you now, that I will do my level best to watch over your son."

The two sat in silence as they finished up their drinks and before long, they were both making their way back to Tim so that they could finally, put this situation behind them, and move forwardjust like Tim had so adamantly insisted on.They all owed it to him to do that much.


	13. Chapter 13

_Two months later..._

Tim woke up feeling nervous about the day ahead. He'd been through hell and back the past couple of months and finally, he was at a place where the tremors had lessened and the periodic seizures were totally under control by medication. The doctors had told him that it was rare for the seizures to continue, but given time, they would hopefully stop along with the tremors...of course, Tim knew that there was a strong chance of them being with him for the rest of his life.

It didn't matter though, because he was taking the first step by going into work and had thankfully taken his doctor 's advice and used up the sick leave prescribed to the day. He sat up and looked down to see his right hand twitching slightly and frowned. Not today! Not when he's..._ah, there you go _he though when it calmed down and stopped. He yawned loudly and jumped when his cell phone rang on the nightstand.

"He...hello?" Another yawn engulfed him making the other person chuckle warmly on the other end.

_"Timothy McGee, please tell me you got some rest last night."_

_"_Hey Mom. I slept but I've just woken up and this is me pre-caffeine."

_"Oh dear. My baby without his coffee. Whatever will we do?. Tell you what, how about you open your door and I'll make you some while you get ready for work." _Tim frowned as the words sunk in.

"Huh? You're..." He was cut off by someone knocking gently on his door and shook his head with disbelief. "Mom you didn't have to come all this way. Hang on." He hung up the phone and looked around the room for a tea shirt he could throw on. The problem was, he'd worked hard to lose the baby fat that he'd always had and had finally gotten down to his ideal weight; that was until he got sick. Now he couldn't stand to look in the mirror because of the excess weight he had lost and even though it was back on the rise, he still felt too thin. He found his new MIT t-shirt that Sarah had bought him for when he was discharged out of the hospital and threw it on before plodding to the door.

With a sigh, he opened it and held out his arms to give Angela a big hug.

"Would I really miss my baby's first day at work?" She said happily and pushed Tim back so she could look him over. "Still too thin, Timothy. You've put some weight on, and that's good, but I miss the..."

"Mom, I was fat. I'm not going back to that! Ducky and Brad said I'm at the lower end of the healthy limits so don't worry. That and the team have been coming over every night with dinner since you and Dad went home."

Angela nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "I know. I spoke to Jethro a few times over the past couple of months and after that initial warning then..."

Tim frowned. "Warming...Jethro? Woah! You warned Gibbs? Mom! You call him Jethro?" Angela couldn't help but laugh loudly at the shock in her son's voice.

"Yes on all accounts. He's been keeping me updated on how you've been. It's helped especially seeing as my own son skirts the issues at hand. Why didn't you tell me about the lingering seizures?" She chastised.

"I've had three since leaving hospital and they haven't been that bad. Haven't had one in a week!" Tim defended.

"I know. But you can't drive. Correct?" Tim winced and couldn't help but scowl.

"Yeah but at least I only have to be without seizures for six months. Epilepsy is a year!"

Angela grinned at Tim. "You always have a way of finding that silver lining, Tim." When Tim smiled back, she patted his cheek and made her way into the kitchen. "Okay. Let's see what we have for breakfast and then I'm your chauffer for the day which means I get the Porsche...oh yeah!"

Tim's eyes widened and he couldn't help but laugh loudly at the excitement in Angela's voice. "You want my car? All day? Mom..."

"You can't drive it yet. Come on. Can you imagine what it's going to be like driving to the mall in that?"

"Um...yeah. It's my car. I don't have to imagine." He cocked his head and looked his Mom straight in the eye. "Okay. She's yours for the day, but be careful and you have to pick me up from work."

"Deal!" Angela grinned and ushered Tim off to get showered and dressed while she got breakfast ready. Tim did as he was told and found himself grinning as he showered.

Maybe today wouldn't be as bad as he thought after all.

***NCIS***

Tony leaned back in his chair and threw a ball of paper at Ziva across the office. Today was the day! And he was starting to get fidgety as the excitement of having his Probie back in the office threatened to spill over.

"Tony! Stop it or I swear I will stuff these balls of paper so far..."

"You two got nothing to do?" Gibbs asked as he walked in and paused to glare at his agents. "DiNozzo, you go through that file yet?"

"No but Gibbs..." Tony stood up to try and defend his actions but was met by a swift headslap. "Yow! Sorry, Boss. On it, Boss."

"Ziva?" Gibbs moved to his desk and made to sit down. "Report."

"On your desk and I am currently working on the cold case file that you gave me yesterday." Gibbs nodded his approval and gave a sly grin as he booted up his machine. They'd all been grounded as punishment and currently had a permanent write up in their files because of what happened. Today was the first day that they'd be allowed back in the field; Tim included.

"Is McGoo on desk duty?" Tony called across to Gibbs.

"Nope."

"Is he alright to be in the field. I mean, Boss, what if he has a seizure?"

Gibbs sat back in his chair and glared at his senior agent. "Then we deal with it. Doc said its okay. That's good enough for me. Again, DiNozzo. You got nothing to do?"

"I've got...no, Boss. Getting back to work now Boss." Gibbs nodded his approval and watched as Tony started going through the file. With a self satisfied grin, he went back to his own report before hearing the elevator ping loudly, when he looked up, he couldn't help but grin at the expectant faces of his two agents.

"Aww man!" Tony groaned when Abby stepped out with Ducky and Jimmy. "I thought you were Probie."

"Sorry to disappoint, Anthony." Ducky chuckled warmly knowing exactly how Tony felt. "I take it by that greeting he isn't here as yet."

"Nope." Gibbs replied again. "What are you all doing up here. Nothing to do in Autopsy and the lab?"

"Gibbs! How can you say that? You know I'm always busy but I'm missing my team. Balboa doesn't bring me cafpows and give me hugs and my babies are playing up because their favourite team isn't bothering with them anymore..."

"Abbs breathe." Tim had managed to walk in undetected as everyone gaped at their loveable Goth . He grinned broadly when she turned around and threw her arms round his neck in a bone crushing hug.

"Timmy! We've missed you. Well, I know we've seen you every day but we've missed you here."

"Abby!" Gibbs growled and moved to peel her off of his agent. "McGee. It's good to finally have you back. How're you doing?"

"I'm good. A bit shaky this morning but it only lasted for a minute or so. No seizures for over a week either so it's looking up." He struggled to keep the shock out of his face when the Boss reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Any problems or you feel sick, you let me know right away, McGee. I know the last few times you've felt 'em coming on and we can't help if you keep it to yourself."

"Thanks, Boss." Tim smiled at Gibbs warmly; the relief palpable in the clear green eyes. "I appreciate that...oh! Mom said she's gonna ring you later. Should I be worried?"

Tony and Ziva snorted before laughing loudly because every time Angela McGee had rung, Gibbs had acted...nervously polite for want of a better word, on the phone. It was the first time they had ever seen it and knew that given the circumstances, it was possibly going to be the last. "Nope. Just keeping her up to date. She wanted to know how you're first day was going and said quote 'Tim will not tell me the truth'."

Tim blushed furiously and stood there wide eyed. "I tell her the truth! I just...skimp on it a little bit. She doesn't need to worry."

"Skimp? McGee, she didn't know about the seizures till I told her." Gibbs gruffed and glanced down at the double layer of drinks that Tim was carrying. It was the first time he'd seen them. "You got coffee?"

"Yeah. I figured I'd left you in the lurch for two months so I'd stop off. Abbs..." Tim handed her a cafpow and smiled when she kissed him on the cheek. He handed Gibbs one tray and told the boss who they were for. "And these are for you two. Duck, Earl Grey. Jimmy I couldn't remember what you had so I got you a Latte."

"Perfect." Jimmy took the coffee. "Thanks Tim."

"Yes, thank you Timothy. I will say this is another nice surprise today." Ducky took his tea and mirrored Gibbs' action of resting his hand on Tim's shoulder. "You have been missed. my dear boy. Please don't think you haven't."

"I know, Ducky. How've they all been with the punishment detail?" Tim knew that they'd been grounded and stuck on desk duty for the full two months that he'd been on sick."

"They've been more productive with cold cases than they have ever been." Vance walked down the stairs and held out his hand. "Agent McGee it's good to see you back. I believe you have something for me?"

Tim handed Jimmy the tray with the two left over drinks on and pulled his bag off his shoulder. After rummaging for a few seconds, he pulled out the letter and handed it over. "There you go. I am officially back in the game." Tim's grin was infectious and lit up the squad room.

"Yes you are. You know what Brad said?"

"Yes Sir. Gibbs is on the case with my mother as well." Tim leaned in to whisper at the Director. "Seriously Sir, should I be worried?"

"No son. You shouldn't." Vance replied with a twinkle in his eye and a wink. He looked momentarily stunned when Tim handed him a coffee and shook his head. "Thoughtful as ever Agent McGee. Thank you."

"It should be me thanking you. I know it wasn't easy with my parents being the way they were, but thank you for listening to me."

"Tim. You came to the office after escaping the hospital during a heavy storm that made travelling pretty much impossible. To top it off, you were in the throes of a heavy fever and seized. You didn't leave me much choice _but_ to listen to you."

The blush that rose before, reappeared and Tim had the good grace to look slightly ashamed of what he did. "Sorry sir."

"Don't be sorry. You saved my MRCT team. They have been disciplined though so they didn't get away scott free. Now..." Vance looked around the room. "How about we get some work done here, people. Gibbs, you and your team are officially off desk duty." With that, he walked back up the stairs.

Ducky shook his head and sighed. "Ah well. Timothy, I am afraid Mr. Palmer and I will have to love you and leave you. We have an unfortunate young man down in autopsy that won't wait. Thank you for the tea, dear boy."

"You're welcome." Tim said and started making his way over to his desk. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of Abby sitting there among numerous 'welcome home' banners. "Aw man. I should have known you'd all do something like this."

"Not all...Abby. Our Princess of the Night got creative when she came in." Tony frowned. "Can't believe I didn't think of it first."

"You didn't. Gear up we've got a dead marine in Virginia." Everyone jumped into action and followed Gibbs to the elevator. Tim paused briefly and turned to a forlorn looking Abby.

"Thanks Abbs." He threw her a wink and filed into the carriage knowing that he was just where he supposed to be...home.

***NCIS***

"Red tag? Aww come on! You've gotta be kidding me!" Tony dropped his bag and lifted the tag up to read.

"Boss, we need to call in..." Tim started by stopped at the boss' glare. His heart dropped at what was going to happen knowing that potentially, he was going to be sent in.

"DiNozzo. Quite wining and call bio-hazard. Get them here on the double!" Tony gaped whilst Tim and Ziva started at the boss in shock. Did Gibbs really just order them to wait?

With a smile and a nod, Gibbs walked back towards his car leaving the team with no doubt, that nothing like what happened to Tim, would ever happen again.


End file.
